Zombies? This Has To Be Magic!
by killeraj68
Summary: (Another Zombie AU but science is boring so...) Will the members of μ's find a way to resolve the so called infection? Are some the members completely clueless? How do you investigate without being killed in an apocalyptic environment? WARNING: Some other FFs are being used as headcanon so they should probably be read. (See at top)
1. Prologue

**[Future Update ] :** Before releasing the next chapter, to those still reading, the second portion of "Spiritual Theory, Mountain Flashbacks" (Ch. 4) will be made into its' own chapter. Alongside that, I'll try to update it to a less forced flow. It's just something that bothered me.

READ: (Headcanon Plot) Please.

 _Sleygal_ 's "Do You Accept Me for Who I Am?"

 _Razgriz89_ 's "Mokutori"

(I'll add to them; not many recaps so. (But you can probably guess))

 **Disclaimer:** All you need to know is I don't make the money. It also should be obvious what bits of plot I DO own along with the arrangement.

 **Included:** _Yandere Simulator_ character concepts.

Inspiration from _Crappy Angel '_ s "Love Live! The Survival Project".

Anime: "Spice and Wolf" Concept.

* * *

"Honoka!"

"Honoka-chan!"

"Honoka-chan-nya!"

The quiet rooftop formerly occupied by herself, the graduating, former Student Council President, erupted into life. She had come up here thinking about her time at the school filled with wonderful memories, just as her friends had guessed. When she heard the door close and the sounds of footsteps coming to a halt, she turned to them.

"Ah, girls! You're all here!" Honoka stated quite cheerfully, her eyes seemingly glowed, "You're all free for the next few days like I've told you to be right?!"

"Of course! The great Nico-nii wouldn't forget her friend's request~."

"Quiet Nico-chan, I still want to know why Honoka told us all to bring our stuff to school."

Nico only grumbled at Maki's rudeness, she wanted to know too. Meanwhile, Eli, Rin and Umi agreed with her for different reasons while the remaining girls watched.

"Honoka, please tell me you've planned your surprise activity properly this time."

"Nya~! Rin wants to know what Honoka-chan plans to do! Tell us, tell us!"

"Ho-no-ka." Umi empathized every syllable in a stern tone, "I must agree with Eli, if this is another one of your sudden reckless plans formed on a whim-", Umi left the sentence hanging, opting to just glare at her. Used to it, Honoka pretended she wasn't on the receiving end.

"Now, now, Umi-chan. Let Honoka-chan explain first." Kotori said while nudging her, somewhat calming the archer.

Honoka stood in front of them in a proud pose after Umi settled down. They hadn't noticed it before, but she was holding a piece of paper.

"Over the past year I have matured. I have learned that to avoid punishment-", pausing for the important life lesson reveal, "I must learn how use the rules against Umi-chan!" She then showed the paper to the girls, immediately taken by Eli.

"Honoka… This is… A properly submitted form! Harasho~, it was even submitted with the required processing time beforehand too!"

Eli was shocked and proud that her successor had matured, even though it was for an improper reason. Umi just gave her an annoyed look but she was also proud. She wasn't about to admit it or the fact that she hadn't noticed Honoka or Kotori working on that form in the slightest.

However, Maki had eventually gotten annoyed and brought up her question again, snapping Eli out of her temporary shock.

"Ah, right. Based off this form we're having another sleepover at school again. Is that right, Honoka?"

"Yep! I know it's sudden but we haven't had a single sleepover all~ year, so I thought I had to change that you know!?"

The responses she received included happy yelling, sighing, grumbling, and nervous chuckling. Even though it may have sounded like they were thinking differently to an outside party, they were all happy thinking along the lines of, 'That's our old crazy leader at it again.'

..

They had set up their things in the clubroom, including a lot of food supplies thanks to Honoka, Hanayo, Nico, and Maki. They even had some stuff in the school storage, showing just how much they bought much to Maki's dismay. Although, Maki was secretly thankful that Nico had accompanied them, she knew how to spot deals. It still didn't change the fact they made her spend all the cash she had on hand.

They had an early dinner after a bit of resting too.

..

Earlier the teachers had shown them how to close the gate properly and the necessary keys to the property. They trusted most of the former council members and their boss's daughter, not to mention they've stayed before.

On top of that, even though the girls didn't know, Principal Minami, herself, was on campus and would look after them.

Not that she didn't trust them, it was just that she was dragged there.

..

After their meal the girls decided to talk a bit about the recent events in their lives.

The After School Navigators' families were blessed with a vacation to Hokkaido thanks to Nozomi, they had all left the previous day. The actual trio had decided not to go for a few reasons, mainly because Honoka had told them in advance to prepare for this day and there wouldn't be any tickets for Nico's siblings. Besides, Maki offered to let them stay at her place in advance and it was a fun result. As for the spiritual mom of μ's, she was still really lucky. She had bought winning tickets for three different contests and the prizes were, of course, the tickets and cash. Nozomi had kept the the money in a personal account and pestered her friends' families to take the tickets as she couldn't, wouldn't, travel. She had also insisted it was what her cards demanded of her.

The Sonoda's and the Nishikino's had gone earlier to the same place as the other three families for their respective businesses. Honoka's parents had apparently gone there for some sweets event planned months ago. Meanwhile her sister and Arisa were currently at the shop for their own sleepover.

Besides the sudden movements of their family members, nothing new, to them, was mentioned that night.

After a while the girls had apparently fallen asleep after their activities of fun for the day, happy to spend time together.

...

In her office, Principal Minami and a certain woman were also about to turn in for the night.

"Is it alright to spy on them? I worry about half of them but I also trust all of them at the same time. I mean, most of them are high-school graduates as of today…"

"It's fine Minami… This is fun right? Hanging out like we're young again, actually laughing at silly things," the woman paused, "I don't know about you but this is a nice change."

"I suppose you're right but…", Minami looked to the side of the room, eyebrows twitching, "Did you have to build a wall of cans in my office? Why did you buy so much? If I didn't know you, your spending tendencies, I'd say you were preparing for a disaster! You even have camping equipment for us and the girls in a classroom too..."

"Well Minami, you'll have to thank me if one does happen! Good night." The figure then pretended to sleep to avoid Minami's nagging.

Minami sighed, picturing the smirk of victory her companion probably had before going to sleep mumbling, "Good night…"

.. ... ..

It turned out μ's had many hardcore fans, who had started to worship their goddesses in disturbing ways. Starting a demonic cult, for example.

For the said cult, a creepy leader needed to lead them. The latter alone had created all the activities for the other members. Of course, those that joined didn't believe in the things they did or knew their intentions for them.

The leader knew the occult was very real. They thought that the 9 school idols were human trash, just like the rest. Luckily for them, not a single member knew these things.

On the same night μ's decided to stay at their school, one of their activities began. It seemed like the usual, just some random chanting, but something was indeed different. For once their leader did not join in, but those that noticed didn't think much about it.

Then in a moment all the members present formed into a black mass, then into a single deformed body.

Attracted to the nearby town's noise, it started charging onwards.

The first screams of terror would ring there.

* * *

 **AN:** I'm sorry I'm a baka and illiterate.

If you notice any OOC aspects or improper grammar I need to correct then please PM me. I'll fix it when I read your message. (If it wasn't on purpose, I'll PM back)

TBH I have the poorest perception skills ever. Therefore I don't know what to rate this story. I want some shredding and brain eating here so...


	2. Minami School Morning

Included: _Razgriz89_ 's "Mokutori" Plot.

* * *

Principal Minami was not happy this morning.

..

Light shined into her office but she was thankful, her desk had protected both of their eyes. However being a teacher, even though she didn't teach, caused her to wake up and get up anyways. Though, she only managed to stand long enough to sit in her chair to look out the window. Outside she saw the locked gate and the trees with the sunrise. Still dazed she looked the clock, 'This early? Must be habit...', she thought. She leaned back in her chair and basked in the light for what seemed to be a few minutes, waiting for her mind to run.

As she sat there she slowly realized something, 'Hm... that's odd, does the light usually shine in?' She sat back up and looked at the so called 'light'. Her eyes focused and relayed to her brain that the color was far too orange and it was coming from the wrong place, the ground even. Not to mention the traces of smoke in the same direction. "That's...!" the Principal gasped and stood up, pressing against her window she saw that, based off off the orange glow, it was fire from a more densely populated area in the distance. She turned to the clock, 'It hasn't moved?! I know time has definitely passed... I misread it then? That means the city has been burning, and it's still burning.' She sat back down trying to think.

..

Currently, she had gotten over her shock. Unfortunately she didn't know what to do. She stared towards the school gates unconsciously, by now the real sunlight shined upon the school.

"Should I try to find out... Not in this area... Not a concern... But some of them...?" she mumbled. While she was thinking her subconscious vision decided to smack her in the face. She saw an adult figure hanging out by the gates. "What are they doing? They shouldn't be here, not to mention it's pretty early."

She stood up and walked around to her companion. Bending down to the figure, with many attempts, she woke her up.

"Why did you wake me up Minami~?" she immediately whined.

"I need to go out, there's a... suspicious man by the gates."

Becoming more alert she replied, "Are you sure he isn't just taking a walk?"

Minami shook her head. "Take a look."

The figure by the gate was indeed moving, however they were going in a continuous forward motion. Therefore, the person was smacking themselves with the gate. It'd be funny if they hadn't been going at it for a solid 5 minutes, this wasn't normal.

"Are you sure you want to go out there?"

"Well it is my school so I'll get cha-"

"Knowing you, you're not bringing a weapon are you? At least wear something you can run in, I bought something like that yesterday in fact!" she exclaimed. She may be too lazy and hazy to move outside, but she still cared. "You look good in your suit and all but it must be hard to move in." She winked.

"Grr... You-... Alright, I'll change into sportswear."

.. ... ..

Earlier that morning, just like her mother, Kotori woke up slowly and looked around. Umi was next to her and the others were... "Eep!"

How could she forget such a tragedy?! Last night, even though they all feared 'death', Maki started another pillow fight just like the time during their first training camp. In such a confined room, Umi was sure to be hit. Kotori shuddered at the memory, the sight of her friends dropping one by one. Thankfully she stopped and decided to sleep when Hanayo and herself were huddled in different corners. Working together though, the deceased combatants were covered with a blanket for their sacrifice. Hanayo settled down next to Rin while she laid next to Umi.

The memory shook her up a bit, but she was in a thinking mood now. Eventually, she thought about Umi, then to their secrets as a result.

'It was only last week, huh?', she thought, staring at Umi.

One of her best friends showed her an unbelievable secret. In return, the next day she spun her head completely around. Kotori chuckled at the memory of her coaxing a blue ball of fur to uncurl.

Luckily she didn't have to explain her condition, Umi and Maki still had side effects of their own ordeal too. However, unlike them, she decided to learn more about her greater potential for powers thanks to Hanayo. Whether or not her underclassman figured it out, she didn't know. Personally though, she thought her older moves' power had improved a lot and the newer ones could be amazing once she masters them.

Kotori had decided to train in the mountains during her free time that year, curtsy of Maki who lost to her 'Onegai'. However, Maki was stubborn and wanted to know what she was doing. Meanwhile, Umi found out and insisted on joining them. It was much more relaxing to be with friends after training of course, but it was also harder to conceal her secret. Of course, being with the stubborn 'Princess', she had to tell Maki. To be fair, asking for 'a lake that can handle huge explosions and isn't important to the ecosystem' was suspicious.

She thought about her training in detail, it was a new experience. It was a shame Maki only stayed for one night, but thankfully, Umi was still interested and accompanied her. She had wondered how Umi could meditate while within earshot of her yelling while she trained at the time, she had suspicions now.

.. ... ..

Earlier that day the trio arrived at the home, dropped off their things, and explored.

Kotori was stretching by the lake basking in the afternoon light. "Ah~, this is so relaxing." she said happily while she continued.

"Yeah...", Maki trailed off, twirling her hair, "so what are you doing?"

Kotori giggled, "Maki-chan has always been persistent, so I'll show you."

Over the past months, she had been learning about how Pokemon of her type would execute their moves. Luckily Hanayo, for some reason, had a montage of different moves from the show and almost too gladly explained what she thought. Even though she was talking a mile a minute, her information was actually useful. If Kotori could apply and put the concepts into practice successfully was another story.

Back to her situation, she took a stance one would use for bowling and swung out. "-Tori!" The leaf blade went a few feet before making contact, splitting the water's surface before stopping.

"Uueh? Kotori you... Are you okay with this?" Maki was surprised, but she was able to brush it off.

She nodded, "Well I've only become stronger this time and well...", looking up at the sky with a smile, "Like this I could hold my own, even protect the ones I love. You never know, right Maki-chan?" Maki internally cringed at that textbook dialog, not wanting to tell her that though because she sounded a bit too into it.

Kotori quickly leaned into Maki's space-bubble with sparkling eyes, before Maki could react, "Could you breath fire?"

"W-what's with you all of a sudden?" Maki leaned back, "I don't understand, how and why would I breathe fire anyways?!" Maki, who had looked away, looked at a... a... an angry Kotori? This was new. "S-so, uh, you have to give me a tip, yes." Umi was purposely terrifying, showing her annoyance, her angelic counterpart rarely did so too. If Kotori ever became truly angry, she didn't know.

Kotori smiled in victory before thinking intensely. "Um, maybe think of a building heat in your chest and releasing it?" she suggested.

Maki simply shrugged and finally got it after a 'few' tries. It was a good turnout, steam instantly raised from the water.

"What did you feel?" Kotori said excitedly from a safe distance.

"Huh? Well I suppose it's just like you said but the heat felt like...", she blushed, "My own inner power."

Kotori simply giggled to herself. She now had a hint for her more energy like moves. Inner power huh? She turned to Maki. "Thanks Maki-chan, I have a better idea on how to train now!"

"Sure, whatever." Unsure how one trial was enough data, but as long as she didn't have to continue, "Let's just get Umi and go back already. We spent most our time looking for this place so don't forget it."

"Alright, Maki-chan."

.. ... ..

Eventually getting bored, seeing how none of her friends could wake up anyways, she went up to the roof to get a healthy dose of sunlight.

"Ah~. The sun feels good today too!" Kotori walks over to the part where she can oversee the entrance. The first thing she sees, the thing she walked over to see, were the trees. The second thing was the stiff figure of her terrified mother. Wait... Terrified mother?

"Mother? What is she doing here today? Standing by the gate so early too." She focused her eyes on the situation, her mother staring at the man by the gate while trembling like crazy. The man, meanwhile, made her instinctively cautious. First of all he was wearing pajamas. Second of all he had pale skin and bloodstains. Those were not good signs.

The normal thing to do would be to when you see a creepy man is to call the police. At that thought Kotori's subconscious redirected her eyes to the blaze. It is also normal for all law enforcement personnel to be occupied when a majority of the city is on fire.

Kotori looked back down at her petrified mother, then to the gate that suddenly had a few more figures of similar state. For some reason she had the urge to get to her as fast as possible, her own intuition could never wrong her.

Hopping over the fence, she then climbed down the front of her school.

...

She needed to move. She couldn't move. Why? She watched as the man was accompanied by two others of similar state. They were all growling, or perhaps moaning. Alongside that was the strong, yet surprising quiet, banging. It all freaked her out. Luckily for her, it seemed like they couldn't see her, thus they didn't notice her presence.

When she had walked up earlier, she had fully intended to scold the person by the gate. However, when she saw what Kotori had accurately seen from the rooftop, her intuition overruled her responsibility. It screamed at her not to make noise and she listened.

Slowly she realized that maybe this was a zombie apocalypse after she had calmed down. It wasn't completely unreasonable after all, the stereotypes were all there.

'But if that's true then they'd be attracted to sound I think, but then that means the banging will...!' Minami's eyes widened as she realized what could happen. 'That means if we don't... Eliminate them,' she unconsciously shuddered, 'they'll eventually gather into a group big enough to break the gate.' she concluded.

It was the right idea but there was some problems. What if this was a joke? It'd be murder. Then if she really intended to get rid of them, how could she do it? Sure she could try to get a bat and... That... But then she would be noticed. She continued to think until she was interrupted.

"Mother?" said a familiar hushed, soft voice. Principal Minami turned to her daughter. Kotori saw how troubled she looked. "Are you okay? You seem troubled about...", she gestured back towards the gate.

She didn't want to worry her daughter, but Kotori had graduated yesterday after all so replying with a hushed tone, "I was wondering if they were faking their act. They look just like zombies from the movies." Part of Minami wanted to kick herself for believing in the existence zombies, but nothing else made sense.

Kotori quickly answered, "Mother I think this is real." She then proceeded to move so that she was at an angle from the gate bars.

"Ko...tori?" Minami barely whispered. She was worried, but her daughter seemed confident in her moves. Kotori stared intensely somewhere and shifted, then she threw her arm out. One of the figures that had joined the first one suddenly fell over, one of its' legs detached. It didn't even scream or react to it's sudden reposition.

Kotori approached her again. "Um, well mother...", she looked nervous, "I'm sure this is real now so what should we do?" Her hair covered her eyes.

Principal Minami noticed the mood shift and hugged Kotori. While rubbing her daughter's head she realized it has been a while. 'I've really missed spending time with Kotori. Over the recent years...' Her thoughts were halted when she felt Kotori shift, seemingly better.

Pulling away from the Principal she repeated her question.

"Well, I think I can handle it on my own so go back inside with your friends." She wasn't confident at all but she needed to keep a respectable image.

Kotori frowned. "Mhn, no I'll do it. I don't want you to risk yourself. I... Really want to protect everyone when I can." she wore her rare determined face, "Besides I have ranged attacks so it'll be fine, mother."

Minami gave her an genuinely proud look, "Well if that's what you want Kotori, but I'm going to watch, alright?" Kotori look surprised but quickly recovered, and gave a small nod. She turned to repeat the process from earlier except she aimed at their heads. Minami was quite awed how determined Kotori could be at a time like this. Though she couldn't help but grimace a bit when all three heads fell off afterwards, also split in half. She'd have to ask Kotori what she did later.

Kotori walked back towards her taking deep breathes, calming her down. "Um... Let's head back inside mother!"

She nodded and the two started to walk back to the school.

...

The other grown woman was watching the interactions by the gate.

She had been right to worry when she saw the ever so strict Principal freeze. Actually, she was about to assist when she saw something, a grey blur. The younger Minami had sped out of nowhere. After that, she saw her drop the people by the gate after what seemed to be a small pep-talk from her mother.

"Geez. Those two better explain what just happened." She sighed, thinking about the very near future. "I better start going to their clubroom, I bet it'll be easier to explain if we're all together."

* * *

 **AN:** I am a Pokemon noob.

I've noticed I have trouble describing action sequences so... _Imagination._


	3. First News, Simple Plans

**AN:** Autocorrect is ruining me. Why you do this?

The first city description is in the end AN.

* * *

"Ah~! Slept like a log I did. Huh?"

Sonoda Umi had woken up from a peaceful slumber. She proceeded to look around the room, confused. With the exception of Hanayo and Kotori, based off the latter's pillow's position, the old members of μ's seemed to have slept in awkward positions.

Umi blinked as she slowly realized she had woken up earlier in a bad state, rendering the trouble makers unconscious, faster than usual. Normally her very pissed off sleepy mind would slowly pick people off, a dramatic effect, but last night was different.

In the middle of the night, while Nozomi told stories, she felt something she hadn't in years. It was also why she had said she'd go to sleep earlier, to meditate.

'My wolf half...', she thought as she laid down with her left arm over her eyes, 'It hasn't acted up since the first few times so why now? What happened last night to make it go crazy? She has been appeased with those nights in my room and recently this year I...'.

Umi's thoughts were interrupted by a loud knock on the door, as the room was previouly quiet. Who was here on the weekend? It wasn't Kotori since she wouldn't have bothered, so...

"Girls? I'm coming in." a familiar voice said, as Minami's companion came in, "Woah, what happened in here?"

Umi sat up again and blinked, facing towards the figure. Maki bolted up at the same time.

"Uuweh?! Mama! What are you doing here?!" Maki yelled with her face rivaling her hair color. Her yell woke up her fellow temporarily comatose members and Hanayo.

"Well I know this is sudden, but there seems to be a serious situation."

Sure all of the members had seen Maki's father angry, or with a serious expression at least, but her mother? Never.

"Nishikino-san, what is the matter?" Umi, being the most awake, was speaking for the group.

"I'm not quite sure but it must be serious." She bit her lip, thinking about her next words. "I believe I saw Kotori-chan... Dispose of a few people by the front gate, but I'm sure it was for a good reason. Minami was also there and her reaction made it seem like a good thing."

A group "Eeh?!" was heard coming from the clubroom.

"I, uh, just wanted to give you all a warning before those two drops some news on us."

"Nishikino-san," It was Eli this time, "has the media reported anything major yet?"

"Well I haven't really checked but I already rigged your school to record for me!"

"M-mama..." Poor Maki buried her face into her hands because of her mother's confession, "Anyway, shouldn't we check after they get here?" Maki was trying to recover now.

Before she could be answered, a pair of footsteps interrupted. The Minami duo had arrived.

"Everyone!" Kotori started. "There's a huge blaze in the distance but luckily I don't think it's near any of our homes." She took a deep breath, "Also there may or may not be a zombie apocalypse!" she squeaked out in her already high pitched voice. Thankfully the audience understood her, Nishikino from the close proximity and μ's from their strong friendship.

"Zombie... Apocalypse-nya?"

"This is big news!"

The other members responded with various sound effects, they were fully awake now.

Nobody could deny the truth. The two Minami's faces were expressing the seriousness, and Nishikino's words also matched the situation.

The Principal eventually explained the situation in more detail.

"Nishikino-san, please check if the media has reported on the matter. I also wish to accompany you." Eli said as she stood up.

"Nishikino, I'll also come with you."

"Ah, I'll come along too."

The four moms, two of whom were only such by title, exited the room.

"W-what should we do now?" Hanayo asked nervously.

"We should bring Yukiho and Arisa-chan here. Kotori-chan's dad too." Honoka stated in her usual tone.

Nobody had seen the flash that was a wave of sadness across Kotori's face. The remaining members were slightly shocked at the quick response, 'Honoka..."

The remaining, former, third-year was the first to respond. "Nico thinks it's a good idea. We have to save the family members we know we can definitely reach right now."

That's right, the only ones in the city right now besides them were the two sisters and Kotori's father. Luckily both homes were on the same street so it should be easy to check.

"How are we going to do it though, Nico-chan?" Maki had stated the obvious question.

"I could do it." Everyone turned to Kotori. "I think I could sneak by with my own special way." She had her eyes shut while smirking nervously.

"Wha- Kotori-chan? Then I'll go too!" Honoka said, pumped up.

"Rin wants to too! I'm so excited-nya!" Rin followed with the same tone.

"Honoka. Rin."

"Eeh..." The duo gulped.

"I believe only I should go with Kotori if she truly insists." Umi stated sternly. "You both may have excellent reflexes, but some of your other qualities might put you in danger. Honoka, your clumsiness and recklessness may put you in a bad situation. Rin, since you're so energetic you may not stay quiet for long, it'll be bad if Minami-san is correct." She smiled more gently at the next part. "Besides, your cheerful energy will far more useful here."

"Oh~. I get it. You want us to be the team spirits right? Let's go, Rin-chan!" Rin nya-ed back in response. Then the duo ran out of the room cheerfully.

"W-wait! You two, ah!" Hanayo tried to chase after them.

"Say Umi, what about Eli?" Maki said, looking at her senior.

"Well I was thinking she could get your mother and Minami-san into shape. It'd be good to be prepared just in case something happens. The rest of you should train too if we do go out. Besides, a smaller group will attract less attention."

"Ah-yeah. I don't think I could leave mama behind..."

"So," Nico started in a flat tone, "shouldn't we get those three before those four come back so we can talk?"

"...", the four got up to do such.

.. ... ..

"Nishikino, how do you get all of these things into my school undetected?"

"Uh... Don't worry about it. We should just watch the report, right?"

With that, the TV turned on and the news from earlier played.

"... and during the night a huge blaze was started for unknown reasons. While law enforcement tried to evacuate citizens and put it out, an epidemic that can only be described as a 'zombie outbreak' has occurred. Due to the quick pace we only have limited information but it may be useful. Apparently, based off lost connections, it had started in one city, Hinamizawa, and then spread outwards to others.

The first symptoms of infection are a high fever and paled skin. Surviving hospital staff also claim that the infection eventually kills people, post death their corpses rise. It also seems that infection rates vary, the circumstances of why are unknown. As for the fully turned, they will definitely have pale skin and tend to emit moans and grunts, they will have blood dripping from their mouths. The police have stated that they have supernatural strength and a normal movement capacity, which means they can run. Direct combat is unadvised. Luckily, like the movies, the heads, or rather brains, are their weak points. They're also only attracted to loud sounds. It was observed they aren't attracted to each others' moans or the noise from impacts against objects, based off a small group of them, just to scale their detection range. As for the 'how' part, it is through biting where decent amounts of blood are exchanged. People who had died in other ways didn't turn, even though there were signs they were bit before their death.

They bit their lip before continuing. "In other news, as you are watching this, there will be no further rescue operations. All military power will try to secure Hokkaido instead. Citizens may try to travel there but it is not advised to journey outside. Unlike the movies, this situation is isolated in Japan. Other countries know the situation but the government has not accepted their help as of yet, this situation may endanger the human species."

The broadcast had been cut off.

"Oh my, this seems like a serious situation. We'll gather everyone in your office then, alright Minami-san?" Nozomi paused before turning to Eli. "Let's go, Elichi~." she stated in her playful tone, starting to walk away.

"Wha- Nozomi!"

The two moms of μ's ended up leaving the two women alone.

Minami's hair covered her eyes. "You know Nishikino, I think my husband is dead." The strict woman with the poker face was breaking down.

Reacting quickly, she swiveled to look at Minami with alarmed eyes. "What? Minami what's this all of a sudden? How would you know anyways? You haven't called him yet right?" Nishikino tried to snap her friend out of her sudden mood change.

"No, I did try calling him when I was with Kotori. At that time he usually walks the dog and always brings his phone. So maybe...", she couldn't finish. "This report was hours ago, when I woke up the first time. This infection was already big enough for them to do an analysis in such a short time." She didn't want to keep listing the accurate reasons for why she was right.

At this time Nishikino though she needed a hug. After a few tears soaked into her shirt, she started to speak to Minami.

"As a doctor I have to tell people the bad news time to time. They always breakdown, but they'll eventually have to stop." She pushed Minami away by the shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "This may sound cheesy, but if the he truly loved you two then he probably wouldn't want his death to ruin your lives you know? Now let's work together to stay strong for our daughters and their friends!"

"Nishikino...", her smile was slightly returning, "That really was cheesy. You're also a great friend too, thank you."

"Right, right? So you're going to forgive me for bringing all these things here now, right?

"...Just this once." Minami agreed with a sigh.

.. ... ..

"Alright, now we may discuss the situation."

Both groups had just explained their actions during their separation, it was around noon. Currently, Minami was the only one sitting in the room while Nishikino stood to her left smiling. Meanwhile μ's was lined up exactly the same way as the time they were called to the office, their rock costumes replaced by their pajamas.

"First of all, Kotori, I would like to know how you plan to avoid danger."

"Um, well you know... It's a secret! Besides you've seen that I can defend myself mother."

"Kotori I will not let you go until you tell me 'how' in more detail. I understand how Umi-chan could avoid danger, but you..."

Kotori truly didn't want to tell her mother her secret and huffed in annoyance. Her friends would easily understand, but the mothers? She didn't think so. It was time for her trademark plea.

"Mother... 'Onegai!'"

Her mother smirked. "Kotori-chan... 'Onegai!'" It was very unexpected.

Kotori was surprised but she hadn't lost her will yet.

"Mother I can't tell you but believe in me... 'Onegai!'"

"Kotori, I worry about you so... 'Onegai!'"

..

The Minami 'Onegai!' battle lasted for a whole hour. Nishikino and the rest of μ's watched the intense interactions.

Except for Umi though. She had backed up into and slid down the wall in a daze.

Kotori collapsed to the floor, "H-how could I lose to my mother?! I even used Growl to win...", Kotori cried in defeat, hunched over, similar to when Nico didn't win the draw.

"So Kotori, what is your secret?" Principal Minami was internally smirking proudly, she still had it after all these years. Although on the outside she still seemed serious.

"I... Okay I'll show you." Kotori paused and scratched her cheek, "Um... I just wanted to say I've learned the basics of a lot of moves this year and I've also gotten better at others..." She closed her eyes.

Kotori started glowing gray, causing everyone to look away. When they looked back they saw a Rowlet with Kotori's side looped ponytail and bow, along with the trademark Minami hair, scaled accordingly on the desk. Her feathers, the brown ones of a normal Rowlet, were the same color as her hair instead.

Kotori flapped her wings. "-Tori!"

"Wah, amazing! Kotori-chan has basically mastered her transformation and turned into Mokuroh, cute!" Hanayo blurted out, her other side arose when she saw Kotori. It took a lot a willpower not to grab her immediately.

The mothers, unlike μ's, were shocked. The two had never seen something that defied their sense of logic. They both quickly swallowed the sudden turn of events to continue.

"...", Minami's eyebrows twitched.

Kotori, sensing her mother's mood shift, hopped down over to Umi and sat on her lap. She had no intentions of transforming back to explain her abilities. Eli could probably handle it. Hopefully.

"You girls don't seem shocked. That means you can explain this to us too, right?" The Principal said that _too_ calmly.

Eli stepped forward nervously. "Well, do you remember when we were preparing for a live, then Kotori had a sleepover for over a week, and then we canceled it? Then Nishikino-san, do you remember a certain mad doctor that was arrested last year?"

Both women nodded.

"Well..."

..

Eli explained what had happened the previous year and why the parents weren't informed. Hanayo clarified what Kotori was. By then it was late in the afternoon; the Sun was going to start setting in an hour or so.

"Well I suppose Kotori may go rescue Yukiho-chan and Arisa-chan tomorrow then. Now let's move to other topics. We have a lot of food stuffs in storage that we should use first. I also think it'd be good to train under Eli-chan. Are there anymore imminent concerns that need discussion?" Minami looked at them.

"Oh! When me, Rin-chan, and Hanayo-chan ran outside we saw some more infected by the gate!"

"That's right, that's right, but they were just wandering around outside-nya!"

"It was really scary... We went back inside and ended up on the roof."

"That's when Nico and the others found them."

"Yes, that could be a problem. To be honest the wall around the property isn't that high to remain secure forever. If they climb on each other we would be in trouble."

Kotori decided it was time to transform back. She hopped back over to her spot and glowed again. Umi decided to get back up too.

"Mother I think I have an idea. I could fly around and use Razor Leaf on the infected around the wall. While we're gone, maybe Maki-chan could burn them? Someone could tie a rope around her so she doesn't fall as she'll probably have to stand on the wall." She looked and smiled apologetically towards Maki, "That is, if only Maki-chan wants to of course."

"Of course I'll do it, Kotori. Something so simple will be easy for me. Although, will burning them make it spread by any chance Mama?" Maki twirled her hair as she asked. Not that she didn't trust her own medical knowledge, but her mother had experience.

"No, I don't think so. Though, maybe you should only burn them if the wind in blowing away from you, just in case."

"Alright then, the next matter?"

"Eh-um, the alpacas. Should we let them roam around campus? I-I could still take care of them but if we're going train under Eli-chan..."

Right, Hanayo was still the caretaker for the Alpacas. What she also meant to say was that even though Umi retook the position of trainer that year, getting tips from Eli, it somehow seemed different. Though Umi was their main trainer beforehand, while they were together, the occasional training from Eli seemed harsher sometimes.

"Yes, but can they take care of themselves?"

"Ah ha, you don't have to worry about that. They're much smarter than you'd think, but they may need water."

Eli was also thinking about how she had to apologize on her knees before the female alpaca forgave her.

"Alright then-".

"I think we should try to fix this epidemic ourselves. My cards say that things will only return back to normal, with our own efforts." Nozomi cut in.

Everyone was shocked of course. The real mom of μ's saying something like that, but then again her cards were rarely wrong too. But then again...

"Nozomi! First you act indifferently after the news, and now you're suggesting we solve a nationwide epidemic? This is a bit sudden and seems a bit... Impossible."

"Now, now, Elichi. We can do anything if we have enough faith right? It's not exactly the same but we're all together with another goal in front of us." She was speaking in that wise yet playful tone again.

"Besides..."

* * *

 **AN:** I needed a name so I took it from the anime 'Higurashi When They Cry'. I don't plan on any more connections. However you may visualize the town being replaced by a forest, that would be where the cult met. That means the city that Shion stays in is the first city, now called 'Hinamizawa' here.

It's funny because Hinamizawa did have an epidemic in the OVA. You get a good city shot though... I think.

I'm also sorry I keep changing/adding things to the uploaded chapters. I wanted to clarify or correct some plot. It'll probably keep happening TBH.


	4. Spiritual Theory, Mountain Flashbacks

**AN:** When you hit backspace, autocorrect freaks out. I've been writing this story on my tablet and it dies faster?

Time to write in first person for the first time in forever. Sorry if those parts get boring, especially Kotori's (Listing them poke-moves).

* * *

"Besides it's not like I'm blindly following the cards you know? I actually have some ideas about this situation." She put a finger on her chin in her usual manner. "Hm~, but let's discuss this over dinner. We haven't eaten anything today right?"

Everyone slowly realized she was right.

"Ah~! I've been so nervous, even my stomach has stayed quiet." Hanayo whimpered.

"Wha- this isn't good for us! Nico-nii will go cook us something good so we can remain in perfect shape."

"Ah, alright Nozomi. We should split into teams though. Nishikino-san, Minami-san and Nozomi can take stock of our supplies, just in case. Kotori, Nico and I can cook for us. The rest of you can set up our dining area." Eli quickly took hold of the situation. "Is everyone alright with this?"

Nobody objected and the groups set off to do their tasks.

...

"Wow, Minami. Your school sure does have a lot of bread...", she was staring at the bread that was suppose to feed the student body.

"Nishikino! It's not just bread, there's also-".

"Juice, there's nothing else I can think of. Sorry." Nozomi interrupted dramatically.

Nozomi and Nishikino high fived each other.

The principle gave them a blank look as she reflected on her life.

...

"Wow~. This is where the tables are kept for parties huh?"

"There's so much stuff here-nya."

"Let's just hurry up. We need to set this up before Nico-chan and the others are done right?"

"Ehm, Maki-chan, I don't think we should rush moving them though."

"Do not worry Hanayo, under my instructions-", Umi's face suddenly became serious, "I will not allow them to fool around while we perform our task."

"W-wait, Umi. There's no need to be this seri-", Maki tried to say as she turned to her.

Everyone in that room, besides Umi, returned with a terrified face.

...

"Um, what should we make?"

"Hmph. Nico thinks we should make something easy on the stomach. It'd be really bad if you and Umi-chan got in trouble because of Nico's cooking."

"That's a good point Nico. So how about something like this..."

...

At this point everyone was sitting at a big table in a cleared first floor classroom. They had finished eating and cleaned up, all that remained were drinks. In order, their sitting arrangement was: Maki, Nico, Hanayo, Rin, Eli, Nozomi, Umi, Honoka, and Kotori with the moms sitting with their respective daughters.

"Hm. I guess everyone wants me to talk about what I think about this situation huh?"

The others were looking at her intensely as they nodded.

She took a sip of her drink and smiled. "It's the spirits of course!"

They all sweat dropped.

"But I do have reasons for believing so. Assuming the news report was accurate, don't you think it's strange the infection spread out so quickly?"

"Ah!"

Everyone except Nozomi looked at Umi.

"Well if they're only attracted to sound, then the infected wouldn't have had a reason to leave Hinamizawa. There's also the fact that they were able to travel such distances between cities in a matter of hours. Even though their super strength could possibly enhance their running speed, covering the distance in the given time, they probably wouldn't have ran while being unprovoked." Umi thought out loud.

Nozomi had her sly look, leaning on her hands. "Ooo-hoo~. As expected of our most logical thinker. Yes, I believe something is attracting them and leading them at the same time. Something must be powering them to move around after the victims' bodies are taken over, to then set them on autopilot to the next target."

"Oi Nozomi," Nico stated flatly, "what do you mean by 'taken over'?"

"Well Nicocchi, don't you think it's strange that people must die from the infection first before they arise? That there's also varying infection rates? Right now I can't prove it, but I have an idea how this works. People are being killed at the spiritual level, the soul, and their bodies are being possessed. If the soul leaves the body it'll usually die, but in this case something is fulfilling that role. It would also mean the factor that influences how fast it spreads is willpower."

Hanayo was the first to respond. "For your soul to be taken over... That's...", She trailed off.

Nobody spoke for a few long minutes. Nozomi was getting worried, what if her friends were starting to think of her... differently? She hid it well though. To be honest, saying all that disturbed her too.

..

Perhaps ten minutes had passed by.

Eventually, Maki got tired of the silence and spoke up.

"Even in this situation, Nozomi, if you were anyone else I wouldn't believe you but...", Maki started twirling her hair, "You _are_ our friend and you're rarely wrong when it comes to these sort of things." She looked at her. "So, how are we suppose to prove it? You said you couldn't right now."

The other members made genuine sounds of agreement.

The rest of μ's silently thanked her, for they felt the same way. Nozomi was still a mother figure and friend to them, so even if she was saying something crazy they'd believe her. Besides, some 'impossible' things happened last year too.

Nozomi slightly smiled, glad her friends weren't put off by her words.

"The shrine. If there's something evil occupying the bodies then they probably can't trespass there, it's a pure place."

"Oh! The shrine? Maybe we could all go there together. Hm~. I know! While Kotori-chan and Umi-chan are gone, I could think about a way all of us could av..." Honoka was being Honoka, but then her face fell.

"Honoka-chan?" Kotori asked. Their leader with the smile, like this? Not normal.

"Say, girls." Honoka was surprisingly serious. "Besides Kotori-chan and Minami-san, we've never seen them up close have we?"

There was a moment of silence. She was right, they haven't seen them for themselves. To be honest, they really didn't want to. Their fear was very visible, some more so than others. The adults wanted to help, but they silently watched the development instead.

Honoka wasn't done yet, her eyes turned into determined ones. She had noticed her friends' reactions.

"So to go to the shrine," she stood up, "we'll conquer our fear together tomorrow while Umi-chan and Kotori-chan are gone. Together we can get over it if we believe in each other like always. Everyone let's go outside tomorrow!" Honoka was pumped up.

Principal Minami and Nishikino look at each other before Minami replied. "If you're planning something like this, then you don't have to include the two of us. This person," pointing to a winking Nishikino, "snuck away to look earlier instead of working."

Nozomi was smiling at Honoka's determination. She looked at everyone and spoke next, "It should be fine if we just look through the gate right?"

"Well both you and Honoka are right, so I guess it couldn't hurt. Although, we should wait for the sun to rise. It'll give me time to instruct Minami-san and Nishikino-san in the morning too." Eli said.

Maki sighed. "Well I have to burn them anyway right? So I'll go."

"Nico wouldn't leave her friends alone so she'll go to. Nico will also make sure everyone keeps smiling. Nico-Nico-Nii~."

"T-this is scary, but if everyone is going, I'll overcome my fears!"

"That's right, Kayo-chin~. I'll make sure to support you tomorrow, so let's get ready-nya!"

"Everyone let's do our best tomorrow, even if Kotori and I won't be here with the rest of you."

"Mhm, let's do our best everyone."

The two mothers smiled at μ's, they seemed to be doing well in an apocalypse.

...

At this time, the two moms went back to Minami's office to sleep. Similarly, μ's went back to the clubroom to sleep.

It was decided earlier that Kotori would, literally, cut down the enemy around the wall at sunrise. She'd have an early breakfast with Umi, then a fifteen minute rest. Then Umi, equipped with a katana courtesy of Nishikino, would hop over the wall. From there, Kotori would try to provide aerial support as Umi makes her way to the Homura shop.

Eventually everyone went to sleep, except tomorrow's adventuring duo.

Kotori was actually fully awake while Umi was only mentally awake, meditating again.

~Kotori's POV~

My training is finally going to be useful. Who would've thought it'd be for something like this... Father.

Ah! No, no. Something else, um...

At home, all I could really do was study about most of my moves and practice my transformations. Of course I could do simple moves like Rest and Roost, but it was a bit boring.

I was really happy when Maki-chan let me stay in her mountain home with Umi-chan.

It was hard, but fun. While I was there I was able to awaken (Learn?) the moves Kayo-chan explained to me. It took me a few days for me to understand and use each of the skills I know today, but after that I was able to develop fairly quickly. It was the thought and will that counted.

There were moves that I learned with both forms. It turns out bringing my bathing suit was a good idea too!

My training, huh? Ha...

Tackle: I'd repeatedly slam into the water or go through it. It stung a bit but I made a big splash.

Growl: It took me a while to figure out the growl I wanted. I'd always experiment on Umi-chan in my human form (She's so cute when she blushes!). Then, if it got better, I would apply it to my Poke-Form (It's a nice name right?). It seems like it'll need more work before mother falls for it.

Astonish: I used my high pitched voice to my advantage. Although, I did feel bad for the animals during practice. I knew I was successful whenever they scattered though, luckily they'd come back a few minutes later. It was a bit harder in my Poke-Form.

Razor Leaf: I was naturally good at it but I learned how to strengthen the leaves, it was to the point of passing through fire (I built a few, controlled of course). Although it was mentally exhausting, it was worth it. Eventually this became permanent.

Foresight: It was really hard to clear my mind for this one. Luckily I coaxed Umi-chan into a willing pillow fight. It got to the point where I was repeatedly hitting Umi-chan, never missing my shots. Although, Umi-chan must have gotten annoyed because I'd suddenly blackout. I still practiced a couple more days with the same results. I stopped after that.

Synthesis: It felt just like taking in sunlight normally, although it seemed to flow throughout my body in a wave. It felt really nice.

Sucker Punch, False Swipe: Out of all of my training ideas, this was the scariest. I managed to wake up Umi-chan while she was sleeping. Just as she raised her pillow for her signature attack, I'd hit her. It took a few times before she fell, but it eventually became easier with both moves. Sorry Umi-chan.

To make it up to her I'd snuggle up to her and then I'd fall asleep. Training and then having these small nighttime battles, it was actually exhausting. Although waking up, refreshed with an embarrassed Umi-chan was enjoyable.

Leaf Blade: I quickly learned my blades came out from my wrists. It was scary at first, but I also noticed the blades were secured wherever they made skin-contact. It meant I could shape them to a certain extent. For example, I could form them quickly from my wrists like a longsword and then quickly retract them. I haven't tried it on anything yet, but I think it'd make a great sneak attack.

Nasty Plot: I struggled a bit with this one, but I managed to have negative thoughts fill my mind. There was a pulsing sensation in my head. When I focused my attacks while like that, they seemed faster somehow. I probably shouldn't use it, my head really hurt.

Shadow Claw: I gathered that darkness from before and swiped. Three purple claw marks flew over the water. At least that sensation went away.

Work Up: It was easy for me to get pumped up. Again my attacks were faster, but they also seem stronger. It's better than the other one.

Toxic: I was naturally able to shoot the toxic purple stream in my Poke-Form. It was the same for my human form, but there was a berry aftertaste. It wasn't that bad, but I can't put my finger on what it tasted like.

Hidden Power: I took Maki-chan's advice for this one. I tried to focus on something deep inside me for that 'inner power'. If only I thought to ask Umi-chan! Eventually I found it and my body suddenly released it. It was pretty, gray spheres with a mixture of white and green sparks! Then they exploded.

Round, Echoed Voice: Again I used my voice. With the water, I determined the first move created a blast. The second one was more spread out and it made ripples across the water.

Protect: I gathered my 'inner power' again to create a gray force field around myself. It's too bad I can't test it, Kayo-chan said it can withstand any attack.

Sunny Day: On a cloudy day, I kept testing this move until it worked. Although I might have overdid it because it got hotter than I really wanted. Eh-heh, but it reminded me of the time Honoka-chan cleared the sky after we decided to win 'Love Live!'. Maybe Honoka-chan could be a Pokemon.

Light Screen, Solar Beam: For these moves I got to manipulate light, it was interesting. I'm not sure how effective my wall of light is but the beam has a lot of power. I had to use my arms/wings to aim it the first time. It took a while, being cautious about the damage I could do, but I found I could readjust the beam size. Fortunately I also figured out how to regulate the sunlight throughout my body, thus controlling the power.

Sword Dance, Double Team, Substitute: I'm glad Eli-chan taught us dance moves or else I couldn't have made a dance routine for my forms. I was glad I was able to do it, I felt my attacks get stronger as a result. The next thing I knew was I was moving fast, I even saw another me! It took a while to get used to the flashing scenery. Then I thought it'd be interesting to make an actual copy of myself! I was successful and it was able to move and touch things, but it only said '-Tori!'. It was tiring but I had the sun so I was able to recharge and that clone eventually faded too. I wonder if I could make one closer to me, ah, but it'd bad if it replaced me... Well there are other moves I can improve first.

Part way through my training one day, I realized that I needed a grassy area instead. I called out to Umi-chan. Luckily she responded and when I asked her, she said that she found a clearing and led me there. Maybe I'm overthinking it but... Was Umi-chan avoiding eye contact? She also seemed to be distracted on the way there, she'd only respond when I asked questions too... Ah, anyways.

Grass Pledge, Grass Knot, Energy Ball, Nature Power: For all of these moves I has to connect to nature, it was really hard! Eventually I could bend the grass to my will, channel the 'nature power' around me (A green, with swirling gray inside, sphere), and perform to the will (?) of the environment around me. Connecting to nature took a few days and my head hurt.

Ah, the moves I practiced in my Poke-Form were Peck, Steel Wing, Brave Bird, Fury Attack, and Feather Dance. All of the attacks involved flying and attacking, one hurt more than the others but it's really strong. I was also amazed how my feathers could stick to things and how many I was losing.

It was all really fun. Umi would also cook with me when we got back. After a long day too, whenever I was really tired, she'd snuggle with me for a while. It felt really nice, I even fell asleep! Although, she must have pulled away because I'd never wake up in her arms. I decided not to mention it to Umi-chan, she'd definitely would've stopped.

I'm getting tired now, I need to be ready for tomorrow. Mnph~. Hah~, but I can't stop thinking... I'll use that.

[ Kotori used Rest ]

~Umi(s)'s POV~

My wolf half was reacting to this situation?

Well it was let out frequently while we were in the mountains, there shouldn't be another reason for her to act up.

...I had fun there, even though I wasn't conscious half of the time.

The morning strolls alongside Kotori, to a certain extent in the woods, were relaxing. I don't know what she was doing alone, but I trusted her. Besides, whatever she was doing was usually loud so I was confident I could hear her if she screamed for help. Well, my wolf half at least. After we parted ways, I let her go free. This mountain, mostly owned by the Nishikino's for reasons, only had the two of us. Since Kotori was obviously distracted, my wolf half was free to roam without worry.

I would always wake up around sunset, leaning on the same tree with Kotori's voice nearing me. We'd meet up and go back to the house and make dinner together since we were both tired. I have no idea why my body was sore nearly everyday.

Kotori would insist on doing activities and teased me more than usual at night.

During a particular activity, I'd knock her out with my pillow while I was in the moment. I panicked, but managed to get her into bed as we shared the same one (She just had to insist!). I also faintly remember her waking me up occasionally, but then I'd get knocked out later on. I suspect foul play on her part, but I can't remember much, so there's no use thinking about it... The next morning... She'd be pressed against me and it was a bit embarrassing...

I knew when Kotori would be a heavy sleeper, on some days her face clearly showed her exhaustion, and I let my wolf half out during those times. I don't know why, now that I'm reflecting on it, I took such a risk. Perhaps it's Kotori's aura, or I felt bad it wasn't able to interact with anyone besides mother... I'm glad I opened up to Kotori.

...

Hm, the view from the porch is always beautiful, I can rarely tire of this.

...So she's thinking about the mountains.

For the first time I was let outside like this, with me in control. It has been a while since I saw _real_ trees up close, feeling the outdoors.

I don't hate my human half for suppressing me all of the time. Through her, I know that people would probably do things to us, like that man last year (Luckily he didn't know!). Our lives would be put in danger (Ugh, having our will taken), including our mother's, the only person I've personally been with since then, until recently. Besides, the fact she let's me out in her room (Even though it's a bit boring) and during those trips with Kotori this year reassures me she still cares.

I know she doesn't hate me, per se. Every important detail of her life is shared with me, everything. Such as the 'idol club', μ's, and it's members. Some of them, Rin and Nico, were like Honoka. They could annoy her, yet they remained good friends. Eli and Maki were apparently like my outer half, sane with 'common sense'. Hanayo seemed to be soft and pure like Kotori, yet in a different way. Nozomi felt like our mother, yet she was also a mischievous person. Nozomi and Rin seemed to like teaming up, riling up my outer half.

It's sad, really. I know everything about these important people, such as their physical descriptions, yet I can never see them...

...I think my other half mistakes me for being a wolf (Brain) completely. She may not know it, but I can still control her human body (I prefer being a wolf these days though). Perhaps that's why she doesn't try to hold any conversations with me. But still, I wonder why she doesn't question how her clothes remain intact whenever she switches.

Unlike her, I can sense our body's 'feelings', and I'm able to spend time in my place. Those feelings would be called 'instinct'. With them, I can draw out more of our particular potential. Since I follow my instincts and I lack social experience. I know I'd be bad at interacting with others. Especially since before all of this, I only had Honoka and Kotori. Despite that social awkwardness, I still want to have fun like her, to have moments with friends again.

That's why our mountain trip was so fun.

...I'd wake up everyday in a forest similar to mine. Kotori was shouting, but she wasn't in any danger so I wandered off despite wanting to see her again. Not too far from both spots, Kotori's and the place I'd wake, I found a big hidden clearing. It was perfect for training.

Ever since that incident last year, my mind had registered that my body had new capabilities. The first one I tried was transforming in this new way. I constantly had to stop my regular transformation, but I eventually glowed a deep blue with traces of a lighter grayish-blue. When I stopped I was in my wolf form, the best part was that my clothes weren't ripped! I switched back and forth until it became natural.

Next were these powers. I trained for days, up until Kotori called out to me I'd work myself hard. 'Is this what training everyday is like?' It brought back old memories. I'd end up leaning on the same tree and switching with her before Kotori could find us.

In the clearing I'd listen to my body.

For some reason, the first sensation I felt was that my limbs and tail seemed stronger. When I hit the ground there certainly was a dent. This power increase was looking good. In my human form it boosted the power in my swings.

The next sensation wasn't that good. I knew my lack of thirst resulted from the incident but my mouth suddenly filled with water. It shot out as a straight steam, surprising because I couldn't spit as a wolf, and damaged some nearby trees. After a few days the output drastically increased, it went really far. I learned I could switch between these two pressures.

On a cloudy day, while messing around, shooting bubbles (Spheres that I assumed were water, with those shades of blue) in my human form (Surprisingly sturdy enough for these moves), I felt a chill. As I thought about it, the cold feeling increased and I shot out what was supposed to be the weaker stream. Instead, a shiny beam shot out like lightning, yet still straight, and froze the place it touched. I kept practicing but then the clouds disappeared, it became hot. The heat grew like the cold from earlier, however this time I produced a stream of hot water. I was glad that these attacks didn't effect me as I watched my ice melt from the scalding water.

After a few days I learned just thinking about the temperature could activate these new moves. Afterwards, with not much to do, I ran around as a wolf. Suddenly water appeared around me and I moved extremely fast, I was flying thanks to the water. It took a bit but I managed to control my flight. I spent the next day mastering it in my human form (My clothes got wet but transforming fixed it). I wanted to tone it down though, the flying and speed factors were nice but I really didn't need to fly or get wet. With that in mind, I was eventually able to run quickly without the water.

[ Pound, Water Gun, Hydro Pump, Bubble Beam, Ice Beam, Scald, Aqua Jet, Waterfall ]

While I played in the clearing one day, Kotori called out to me.

In a panic I ran to the usual spot and quickly transformed back. Unfortunately Kotori got to me before I could switch out. I faked meditating so I could avoid eye contact, my eyes changed into a golden color whenever I was in control. I did my best to act like my human half.

"Y-yes Kotori?" Agh, I stuttered.

"Umi-chan, do you know if there's a big grassy area nearby? I think I want a change of scenery from the lake." So she was by a lake.

"Lake?"

"Yep! It's over there." I opened an eye to see her pointing in the direction the noises would come from. I quickly closed it when she started to turn to me.

"Yes, I've found a clearing but it's hidden. I-I can take you there if you want." Why didn't I just...?

She suddenly pulled me up. "Alright, let's go Umi-chan!"

I opened my eyes to find her smiling, the smile that my outer half feared (Lost to) as well as I. It was one of the smiles I've wanted to see, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

Luckily her eyes were closed.

I turned away and started walking, Kotori following. She started talking and I listened even though I couldn't follow it well because of my lack of knowledge on the subject. I'd only speak when I had to.

We eventually made it there.

"Hm, Umi-chan what are you going to do now? I think I'll stay here for a bit, it's still bright out."

I quickly replied, "I-I'm going to meditate. S-see you later Kotori!" I waved with my eyes closed and tried my best to calmly walk away. Hopefully she didn't notice anything. Who am I kidding? It's Kotori not Honoka, although Honoka could've noticed... maybe.

I went to the lake she mentioned and relaxed, that made me so nervous! It was my first time speaking in so long too...

The next day I went to the lake. This was my new training spot, Kotori had taken the clearing. That was fine, I wanted to try something.

I went into the water as a wolf, transforming manually. That pain was back, but it didn't last long. My fur stuck to me, waterproof. My muzzle became longer, more cone shaped. The ears shifted to the sides and flopped down. My front paws grew skin between them, webbed feet, and my legs readjusted themselves. My spine and torso also readjusted so that they could support my new tail. My hind legs and tail had merged into the new tail, a dolphin came to mind. I'd have to propel myself with my tail and steer with my remaining limbs. Instead of experimenting, I focused on my transformations by the shore.

A couple of days passed and I learned to swim. It was a bit hard though. Before I went there, I've never even been in a body of water before. Well a body of water big enough to swim in, actually I don't think I've ever swam properly as a wolf... It was a fun new experience despite the difficulty.

I learned that I could breathe underwater and started diving one day. In the depths I felt a tingling sensation around me. I let it flow through me and I was pushed to the surface. I was riding on the water! It was really fun. I started wondering if I could redirect the water in another way. It took a couple of days to get a result, nature had it's own will too. A huge stream skyrocketed into the air and came crashing down. Soon after that I felt that tingling again, but from the inside. Beams (Lasers as Honoka would say) appeared, mainly dark blue and glowing the grayish-blue, in front of me. They zigzagged and curved but they all hit the same spot, causing explosions.

[ Surf, Water Pulse, Hidden Power ]

I spent the rest of my days practicing my new skills and having fun.

At night, certain nights there, my human half would let me out. I don't know what her reason was, but she left me with a sleeping Kotori. I knew it was risky, but I went to hug her. I hadn't realized I missed contact so much, I felt so... Happy. Luckily she didn't seemed to notice, but I let go when I got sleepy. Maybe that's why I could speak to her, this calming aura.

Oh, I'm also happy with my human half. She has finally told someone about me, coincidentally Kotori, and plans to tell others. But... I don't think she'll let me out...

Oh well, I can think about that after this zombie nonsense... I hope everyone makes it through this alive.

.. ... ..

"To think the 'Book of Dreams' would be buried with a worthless monk. It doesn't matter though, its' power is guiding me to world domination." The club leader was at an abandoned run down temple, ranting.

"The weak souls have donated their bodies; the strong ones have held themselves up. It's such a shame that there are limits." They looked into the night. "Tsk, one weak soul leaves behind a weak body, only the strong ones leave behind a body worth powering. Then there's the general lack of senses. It'll be harder for them to detect victims if they're quiet. Luckily we can direct them manually, and they themselves gather near the living anyways."

They looked back down and frowned. "It seems that the survivors are very intent on living, troublesome. Although soon, without help, their supplies will dwindle and they'll go mad. Hm, but I suppose I should lead some people with this power..."

Their face contorted as they were in deep thought. Everything was generally working well, but there were still many things to fulfill and figure out. They screamed in frustration.

* * *

 **AN:** I don't even physically plan out my plot. Maybe that's why I fail English projects? '-'

For Wolf!Umi, the shade of blue mixed in with Umi's dark blue aura is the blue of a blue moon. I'm also not researching if form three can swim, so yeah...

The mountain training takes place during summer vacation, about five weeks. They made trips back to civilization in between though.


	5. Infection! In My Dream

**AN:** I'm taking advantage of the AU factor. My best girls will know each other in later chapters, great.

Playing with the POVs more. Worry.

 **OC?** : She's the third (wheel) girl present when Eli practiced reading her (boring) speech to Yukiho and Arisa

* * *

Hair tied in a high ponytail, on the wall was Umi. Above her was an already transformed Kotori.

"Everyone! We're leaving now!" Umi waved before she hopped over, followed by Kotori.

μ's had woken up to see the duo off, making sure they were prepared. The mothers had gone to turn off the power to unnecessary sections of the campus.

Eli clapped to gather everyone's attention. She, like the rest of μ's, was dressed in a plain outfit Nishikino had bought. Apparently a little birdie had told her all their sizes, coincidentally Kotori had been keeping tabs on said sizes. Well at least they were easy to move in.

"Alright everyone, let's go to the roof and start practice, those two are probably waiting."

Most of them were too tired to complain, at least they were awake enough to help their friends prepare.

As they all reached the entrance, two remained outside. They were Eli and Nozomi, the latter in deep thought.

"Nozomi?"

Eli had to shake her friend before she responded.

She frowned, "What's wrong, Nozomi?"

Nozomi also frowned, but she needed to tell someone. If not her Elichi, then who else? "Elichi, I did some fortune telling about those two recently." she paused, "A change will occur, something I'm not sure of. If it's a good change or-." Nozomi spoke, unintentionally, with worry.

Eli interrupted her soon to be rant, "Nozomi, we both know they can handle themselves well. We both know them, they won't be hurt by those things so easily." Seeing how Nozomi wasn't completely reassured, she continued, "Umi would definitely try her hardest to keep them both safe, just like everything else she does. Well, at least Kotori... I mean-!" Not very reassuring, Eli.

"You two...", Nico had noticed her former classmates weren't following them. Unlike some of the others, she was an aware morning person because of her siblings. She approached them, annoyed at what they just said. "There's no point in worrying and thinking about things so much! They wanted to save those two at Honoka's place after, so let them!" Nico turned around and huffed, "Geez, we need to set a good example for our juniors even if they're older now. Especially you two. We may have some grownups here, but you two can handle us all better. All of us know that." With that, she started to walk to the roof.

It took a moment for the two to react.

"N-Nicocchi! Thank you!"

"Hmph, whatever Nozomi." Nico waved her off.

Eli smiled, looking at Nico before facing her best friend, "Let's go, Nozomi."

.. ... ..

The group managed to shuffle to the roof.

Even though they were sleepy, μ's was able to get back into their old exercises. Unfortunately, the older women were having a harder time. They had both arranged and gone on short jogs ever since meeting again, however those times were rare. Work, especially in their professions, was very time consuming and occasionally random. Their jogs were probably the reason why they hadn't dropped yet. Why did stretching seem so hard suddenly?

With Eli, Rin, and Nozomi, they were monitoring the mothers. Eli for instructions, Rin for demonstrations and Nozomi was making sure the other two didn't push them too much. Not that were uncaring, they just got too into it sometimes.

Meanwhile the other four were practicing a bit farther away, cycling the instructor role every fifteen minutes or so.

It was Nico's turn but Honoka and Hanayo basically monitored themselves, Nico and Maki were occupied.

"I told you I'm not doing it!"

"Hey! It's my turn to lead so just listen to my instructions!"

"Nico-chan! There's no way I'm doing those idol poses again!"

The argument probably wouldn't stop until it was time to switch again.

At least Honoka got a chance to think now that there was no instructions.

'Practicing with the third-years sure brings back memories. Our training was hard! Running up the steps of the shrine and dancing up here...'

She had flashbacks to the shrine exercises, then to the moments she had there. As she listed them inside her head, she thought about the last event there. It was an event that was supposed to happen yesterday morning actually.

Honoka's movements halted due to the realization.

Clutching the sides of her head, she looked up to the sky and exclaimed, "Ahhh-~-! I completely forgot about it!"

.. ... ..

Yesterday, three younger sisters woke up late.

..

Sayomi was escorted there last night by her older sister, Tsubasa, because she suddenly had plans in the morning. Of course she was old enough to be by herself, but it had been a while since she saw the other two. Luckily her parents went overseas for something, so there were no problems as usual.

As opposed to her sister, she had plain dark brown hair and eyes.

..

Yukiho stretched, woken by the strong sunlight. They were sleeping in her room.

Walking to the window, she opened the curtains. Initially, she saw her neighbors wandering around outside. Then she realized something was alarmingly off. There was a lot of red down there.

While slowly backing away, Arisa woke up. Actually, the blonde had been awake but just didn't bother to get up earlier.

"Ah...", Yukiho looked down at Arisa with a pale face. "Arisa, I don't think we can, should, go outside for a while."

Curious as to why her friend was so scared, as she was probably the bravest, she went to the window. She gasped, closing the curtains.

They both sat down in deep thought, waking up their companion and informing her.

"What do you think we should do?" Sayomi asked.

"Well, we can wait here. I'm sure our sisters will remember us. I'm pretty sure we have enough food for us too." Yukiho stood up. "Do you guys want to check with me?

The other two nodded and they went downstairs. The trio went to the kitchen and found out the water was still turned on like the power.

"There's a lot in here." Sayomi stated.

"Yeah, I guess this is a benefit of living in a sweets shop."

The girls determined that there was enough food for probably over a month for the three of them. It made sense, about two weeks of food for a family of usually four and their customers.

"My sister would probably make us eat the food that'd spoil first. So, let's do that." Arisa said.

"That's not a problem, it's the noise. We might get too loud." Yukiho paused, "It'll be fine if we cook quietly, let's try it."

.. ... ..

Outside carefully walking along the street, was Umi.

She was making good progress, they hadn't crossed paths with a hoard as of yet. However, they finally found an obstacle.

Kotori was perched on Umi's head, said girl was mumbling.

"Why is this truck even here?!" She was obviously annoyed.

Yes, a delivery truck was somehow positioned to block the road. It was obviously forced, based off the damage to the walls.

"Maybe I should climb over it." Umi mumbled.

Kotori took this as her que to jump down and transform in front of her friend.

She pulled Umi away to speak with her.

"Umi-chan. We can't go that way. There's a lot of them on the other side it'll take a while to clear them out."

They were a street apart from the shop, more or less, they'd have to be removed for safety anyways.

"I understand. Kotori, can you check if the route to the next street over is cleared. I can follow it to Honoka's. I'll be going by myself while you clear the area. Is that alright?"

Kotori nodded before transforming and flying off.

..

She transformed back and spoke.

"Umi-chan, a lot of the paths were blocked. I even ended up almost going into your neighborhood… Ah, anyways be careful on your trip Umi-chan. There weren't many of them moving when I flew by. I don't know who, but a lot of them were already dea-defeated in a... brutal way."

Umi nodded. "Thank you, Kotori. I'll be going now, you be careful too."

Kotori watched her walk away before performing her role.

.. ... ..

It was almost noon or so and Umi still wasn't there.

By now she was defeating the last remaining infected beings in the street. Kotori couldn't blame her, she had to sneak her way all the way there and back like, a 'U' shape.

She fluttered to Honoka's window and managed to climb in, transforming back. Walking to Yukiho's room, she knocked. Getting no response, she went downstairs.

"Ah, Kotori-san!" Arisa was the first to notice her.

Yukiho blinked. "Huh? Kotori-san, how did you get in."

Said girl giggled before responding, "Through the window! Ah, Sayomi-chan is here too?"

They briefly explained before Kotori spoke again.

"How are you three feeling?"

The three of them exchanged glances before Arisa responded.

"We're doing fine Kotori-san. Did you come alone?"

"Ah, no. Um, could one of you wait by the door for us? I'll be waiting for Umi-chan outside."

"Yeah, we can wait." Yukiho responded.

"Thank you, everyone. Make sure you don't open it unless one of us tells you okay?" Kotori wore her usual smile before she exited the way she came.

...

Umi neared the shop. Surprisingly there were no signs of them ever coming into a certain section, although the surrounding area was littered with bodies as Kotori said. It was odd but there was nothing else there...

'Hopefully that means everyone living here is alive. I didn't have time to check but, I could always do it later. Ugh, but the burning smell wasn't very pleasant. I wonder if that fire will put itself out. Hm... But the wind is blowing...'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice.

"F-father is that you?"

The speaker received a low growl.

Umi quickly rounded the corner. Kotori was frozen in place directly in front of her, perhaps ten feet away. The thing that growled seemed to be heading towards Kotori at a fast pace, quickly covering a greater distance than that.

"Kotori!", Umi shouted.

Since Kotori was in the way she couldn't get a good swing at the figure, so instead she had to push her out of the way at the last second. Unfortunately it costed her a couple of things. One, was her right shoulder which was now being bitten with surprising force. The other thing was mobility, she was pinned by it.

She felt her skin breaking, then a burning sensation. Sure an open wound would sting, but this felt like an acid pouring on her. The sensation was slowly, very slowly, spreading from her wound. She could swear it was creeping towards her left side, specifically, though her mind wasn't completely up for thinking about that.

She just wanted the pain to stop, but right now she couldn't fight the thing off with one arm. But...

...

Kotori sat in horror. Her childhood friend was being bitten and pinned by her f-, no, the thing that looked her father.

'Umi-chan... Pushed me out of the way. Umi-chan... Isn't screaming at all. Is she? No she's..."

Kotori actually looked at her friend, who was also looking back. Umi's face wore a pleading look, her normally hard expression was gone. Such a look, a defeated look, snapped Kotori out of her own shock.

Getting up and walking up to the figure, she summoned her Leaf Blade and detached everything above its' lower jaw. She then threw the rest of the body away to the side and bent down to her friend.

"Umi-chan are you alright?! Umi-chan!"

Kotori only received a grunt of pain. Umi was doing her best to not scream out, to focus on staying awake. Out of all the times, her wolf half was acting up again too. Was it responding already?

...

Yukiho had enough of this. She and Arisa had heard Kotori call out the first time, thus they stood by the door. They heard a thud, but didn't check it because of Kotori's words. However when she heard Umi's name being called out, she needed to see.

...

Kotori was in complete panic, she couldn't think. Her friend was vocally unresponsive and she was injured. What were they going to do? They were in the street.

"Kotori-san! Bring Umi-san inside!"

It took a moment to register Yukiho's presence. Blinking and then with great strength, she wrapped Umi's left arm around her neck and dragged them both to their feet. Quickly, she made her way into the bathroom with her, leaning Umi against the tub before locking the door.

The first thing Kotori did was to get the first aid kit near them. The second thing was to start the cleaning process. She turned on the water.

Someone knocked on the door.

It was Sayomi. "Kotori-san? Can we help you two?"

"...Could one of you find my pajamas in Honoka-chan's room and Umi-chan a robe? Leave it outside."

She noticed how worked up Kotori was. It was probably not the time to question her senior's instructions.

Back to the duo, Kotori had cut Umi's shirt and bra off as they were ruined. She herself was already bare.

Kotori grimaced at the broken skin, a curved mark on both sides. Luckily it didn't seem that deep, though there was a lot of blood, probably from both sides... With her skills developed from her spare time, in the infirmary, Kotori managed to patch Umi up.

"Umi-chan, do you want me to wash you?"

Umi weakly responded, "That's fine... Kotori. You don't have to worry, so much."

Kotori frowned as she started to wash their hair. She had pulled off the rest of Umi's clothing already. Why was Umi already tired? Barely ten minutes had gone by. Well, it certainly hadn't been an hour.

It was a bit difficult, causing a need for Kotori to focus, but they still exchanged words.

"Of course I'm worried. This is my fault after all."

"Don't say that. I understand, I might not have been able to... Attack my father either. Besides, Kotori, you're talking like I'm about to die."

"...Umi-chan..."

Kotori finished up, drying Umi off. By now, Umi was barely staying conscious. It was odd, someone mentally hardened by training was losing a battle of supposed will?

Kotori didn't think Nozomi was wrong, her cards were never wrong. Seeing Umi, however, one of the strongest willed people in the group losing this quickly... What would happen if it was one of them?

She had other things to do.

Kotori managed to get Umi in her robe and got dressed herself. Then she made her way to Honoka's room, opening the door and laying her friend on the bed.

Checking, Kotori determined Umi already had a fever. Even though it was low, Umi didn't look too good.

Gripping her hand, Kotori tried to sooth her.

Meanwhile, Umi was being called by her wolf half at that point. It was strange, she was never directly called upon. Usually, her wolf half's presence would make itself known, just there, and that was it.

'Tired... But Kotori is still here. However, I can't fight anymore... This is my limit.'

"Sorry, Kotori. I'm going to sleep now." Seeing Kotori's saddened face, her own grip tightened. "I promise... That'll wake up again. So... Continue...", Umi trailed off as she lost consciousness.

Kotori placed a towel on Umi's forehead, one of the sisters must have prepared it while they showered.

..

She didn't know how long she remained next to Umi's side. Her fever was slowly getting worse, or rather the signs were becoming more visible.

Making sure she was presentable, Kotori let Umi rest while she went downstairs. The smell of food greeted her by the time she found the others.

"Ah, Kotori-san." Arisa greeted. "We've made dinner so help yourself."

"That's alright, Arisa-chan. I think I'll just grab a quick snack and some water." She didn't really feel like eating when Umi couldn't.

"Kotori-san!" Yukiho said sternly. Apparently the friendly banter between the childhood friends taught Yukiho some things. "I know you're worried about Umi-san, but you need to be selfish now. If you're... Unavailable then what will the four of us do?"

Arisa and Sayomi added their own inputs.

"Um... Kotori-san could you also explain what's going on, with our sisters? About things in general? It'd be really helpful."

"Kotori-san, you're hungry right? You missed out on lunch because of… earlier."

Between the stern annoyed glare of Yukiho, the worried pleading look of Arisa, and slightly encouraging look of Sayomi, Kotori couldn't say no. She sat down.

"Well..."

..

Kotori was done with her meal. She had told them about the report, Nozomi's theory, and the developing plans by Honoka to go to the shrine. There was also a brief mention of the other topics that came to her mind. They were surprised at some things like her powers, but they didn't pester her to show them. Personally, she wouldn't have been in the mood.

Deciding that it was better to leave the girls alone to talk, Kotori decided to prepare for bed.

After checking on Umi and getting prepared, she checked for those things outside too. When she couldn't see any movement, she decided to sleep with Umi. Of course she could have slept elsewhere, but she was compelled by something to do it.

"Goodnight, Umi-chan."

.. ... ..

Umi was startled awake. The sounds of the infected sounded near her. It sounded like it came from just one source, in a way, but it sounded like an angry herd of them. Alongside that was... Her own yelling?

She groaned in pain, she was hurting all over. Sight still blurred by the pain, she looked around. As she focused she realized that she was in her own room. Walls destroyed, but her room.

That couldn't be right for a couple of reasons, besides its' state. Kotori may be indecisive, but she definitely wouldn't put anyone in danger. An immediate trip to her home didn't seem necessary and would've been dangerous, but she suddenly felt like she had forgotten something.

There also happened to be a towering black monster outside, fighting herself.

Getting up Umi decided to look more closely.

'This certainly looks like my home, although Kotori's pillow and Honoka's family manjuu are in my bedroom. The only one who could unlock the gate would be Kotori. Surely she wouldn't bring all of these things here though. Odd, why is all of my archery equipment in here too, ready for use?'

A yell distracted her, redirecting her sight to the battle.

She saw the monster, a black mass emitting some sort of power. It was as tall or taller than her home and occasionally she saw a red dot that'd be present for a few minutes.

The monster swung and hit the building after turning away from the other her. It took a moment for Umi to realize why she was hugging the floor.

'W-what is this? I saw it hit the building, so why am I feeling it? Hngh… If this is the case, I must help get rid of it.'

Shakily standing back up, she picked up her bow and a quiver. As she wobbled over to the battle, the other her finally noticed her. Said other Umi, the fighting one, seemed to be continuously clawing at the thing, yet didn't seem to be tiring.

"Hey!", the other Umi called as she kept moving. "Be careful, this thing seems to be after you. It has actually been getting bigger... Please make sure to keep your distance!"

'Helpful. Nngh, but she's right. This pain... I want to rest but if this thing is trying to destroy me, then I guess I'll try to assist.'

Carefully aiming, she took a shot at the red dot. It seemed like a good idea, the bosses in the arcade game always had an obvious weak spot. Although, she forgot that they'd get mad.

Instead of the arrow, glowing a faint dark blue, hitting its' target, it was struck by one of the monster's sparks of power. The thing then proceeded to shoot another spark at Umi, who managed to dodge it. Unfortunately it sailed past her and hit the building.

After recovering from the pain she shot at the dot again, with the same painful results.

.. ... ..

While sitting at her porch, Umi's wolf half heard a cracking sound followed by a roar. She immediately stood up and ran towards her human half's space, assuming that's where it came from.

'What is this? This has never-'.

Her thoughts stopped when she ran out of her forest.

A humanoid black creature was heading towards the building, their home - the Sonoda Dojo, subconsciously reconstructed by Umi. It was probably smaller than a normal adult.

It slowly moved, but then suddenly shot out sparks. Said sparks exploded against the property. Seeing how this represented Umi, that was probably not good.

Wolf Umi's, in her human form, hands morphed into a more clawed form. It had never happened before, but now was not the time.

After she swiped it, it seem to roar out in pain. However the wound was closed, followed by a red dot that'd eventually disappear. Seeing how it caused a reaction and the red dot was important, she tried to lure out the dot and hit it. Unfortunately, because of the close proximity the sparks hit her.

'Ugh! Ow, that stung. I need to call my outer half here, her more honed archery skills would be useful.'

After trying to call her outer half, she determined that she wouldn't get an immediate response.

She looked back up and saw the creature attacking the building again, so she counterattacked. Surprisingly she wasn't tired at all, though it still hurt.

This time she used her ranged water attacks, alongside her physical attacks.

At first she managed to do something, the creature had to constantly regenerate. All of it's attention was drawn towards her so the building was safe. Eventually she had successfully damaged the red dot, she almost grinned in victory. Then that dot suddenly pulsed and the creature grew a foot taller. It reminded her of something Honoka had called, 'boss hacks'. Her outer half was just as happy with that game as she was right now.

'I-it would be great if you could come now!'

She braced herself before continuing her attacks.

..

By now the creature was probably taller than what the building used to be.

As time went on, the red dot seemed to direct more power to the thing. Of course she could still damage it, but it started to pay less attention. It would increase the attacks on the building, which was now a third tall.

As she was fighting, she saw her other half finally arrive. After she warned her, she watched her human half fire an arrow surrounded by a faint dark blue. It wasn't enough and she could only watch as her outer half cried in pain as an attack meant for her hit the building.

Her human half repeated this twice more, each time getting up more slowly. After that, she didn't see her in the battle...

...

Umi was in her 'room'. The rest of the household and the walls of her room had been destroyed. Leaning her back on the bed, sitting, she tried to think.

'I feel really sleepy, but that thing is outside. Then that other me, who is she? Well, that's not important right now. Obviously I need to hit that dot, yet my shots are too weak. _I'm_ too weak. I want to rest, but if that thing is keeping me from everyone then I can't. I promised to return, this is no time to lose!'

Barely able to move, she managed to heave herself onto and sit up on her bed.

'I must think of a way!'

A faint voice, growing louder, interrupted her.

"-mi-chan! Umi-chan!"

Umi blinked before holding her arms out as a bow manifested from the air.

It was a beautiful white bow with shining gray designs, along with a glowing green string. Experimentally she pulled on the string and an arrow started to form. Before it could fully form, Umi slowly released her grip, stopping the process and letting it dissipate.

For some reason, Umi felt assured with the bow in hand. Was it because she heard Kotori's voice beforehand? Probably.

Umi walked back to the battle, standing near the thing. She had the energy for one more good shot in her, she was going to do her best.

Taking aim, a gray arrow mixed with traces of her blue formed. As she 'charged' it, the feathers shined a bright white with a glowing green edge.

The monster noticed the massive compacted energy and tried to get to Umi. The other Umi also noticed this, however, and blocked its' efforts to harm her to the best of her abilities. Umi herself also mustered up her energy to move, keeping eyes on the target.

Then she released the arrow, finally hitting the mark. Unexpectedly, there was a new yell as the dot, a unique gem, split in two. As it lingered, UmI instinctively threw the bow away. Then a black mass, half of what it was led by a gem half, charged at the two Umi's chests separately.

.. ... ..

Kotori had simply gone to sleep thinking about Umi, with the desire to help her friend.

Something odd happened when she did fall asleep, she was floating in a gray void. Why gray? She didn't know.

As time passed, she kept hearing her friend's pained sounds.

More time passed, she finally found Umi on her own bed. Why Umi was in her bedroom, she didn't know. Umi didn't seem to see her, but she called her anyways. Eventually, Umi held out her arms.

'There! I have to land there! Nngh... Eh?'

Kotori faintly registered she seemed to be a bow, confirmed when Umi pulled on her. It wasn't really painful, just odd. Honestly it just felt like her 'inner power' manifesting again.

Kotori watched as Umi got up with determination and started walking, noting how she seemed to be in pain.

As events played out, she became curious. She saw another Umi clawing at a monster, the thing Umi was aiming at. Over time, Kotori felt Umi charging an attack and tried to help too. Mixing with Umi's aura, it seemed right to call it that, it was a unique soothing sensation.

After Umi seemingly defeated it, the black mass started to split in two. The next thing she knew was that she was thrown away, landing roughly on the ground as she heard screams of pain. Of course she never wanted to her those sounds from her friend. She could try to leave this apparent delusion but...

"Umi? Umi-chan!"

Kotori, who had willed herself to change into her human form and now stood between the two. She decided to carry the other Umi next to what felt like her Umi, the one that had carried her. Looking at them, the other Umi was simply grimacing in pain while her Umi was convulsing.

Trying to calm or ease her pain, Kotori took her Umi into her arms. For some reason, she was now lying in between the two.

Trying to ease whatever was happening, Kotori tried to think of soothing words.

"Umi-chan. Please get well, even though this may be a dream. Even if it is, I'd be happy to see you wake up again." Kotori had been petting Umi's head. Just when she was about to say more, she was interrupted.

There was a... Odd sound. Kotori finally noticed the dark energy that surrounded them, yet it didn't seem to harm them. Then she noticed a gray shield also surrounded them, unconsciously she had used Protect. After sighing in relief, she took a look around.

The area around them was heavily covered in black clouds of pixels. Where did they come from?

Laying down after taking a look, Kotori absently patted Umi's head as she tried to think about the situation.

'Hm... I have to guess the ruins were Umi-chan's home because her room is over there. It seems to have a lot more of these things here than the forest I saw too.'

She let her mind wander until it could think again. There was that sound again too. She took another look before continuing her action.

'I think... One of the clouds disappeared! I wonder why, but this is good. The one in the forest, closest to us, started to turn two shades of blue too. Although the ones here, the ruins, surrounding us are just one shade. Hm, blue like Umi-chan?' She giggled at that, but willed herself back to focusing.

She started to think about the relationship between Umi, the shades of blue, and the pixels.

'Maybe the pixels are causing Umi-chan's pain. I know they weren't here before, when she was awake. Based off of my shield, this happened a bit after I managed to group us together. Eh, I never did check them physically.'

Resting Umi down, Kotori felt like cutting her shirt open. Summoning her blade, that somehow worked, she did split it down the center just enough to see it.

"Wah!" Kotori retracted in shock before doing the same to the other Umi, cutting her shirt the same way.

'What is... Why are these here?'

Kotori had noticed that each Umi had a half of the yin-yang symbol stuck in their chests. Her Umi had the yang symbol while the other Umi had the yin symbol. Although it was obvious these halves were the problem.

'These lines coming from the symbols, they're the same color as the pixels. Mmnh, why are they even here? These aren't even Japanese... Their color is off too.'

It seemed both of them were supposed to be red with dark blue centers, though the other Umi's center had that swirl of grayish-blue and was bigger than Umi's. The blue actually seemed to be overtaking the red, the edges were already in those two shades. Meanwhile her Umi's blue was still, at least, a normal sized dot.

Kotori lightly touched her Umi's chest as she thought, trying to focus.

'Umi-chan... Her 'home' is in ruins with a lot of these pixels things, she's in a lot of pain, and the blue is surrounded by red. Meanwhile the other Umi-chan, if the forest is hers then she has less pixels in her area, she's doing better, and her blue energy has fought hard enough to surround the red. Why though...?'

She tried to remember the observations from before, when she was carried by Umi. Her eyes widened.

'Ah! The other Umi-chan was fighting closer to that monster. She was really fast and I don't think she was in any trouble back then... Um... Umi-chan's home was already destroyed when I got here. She was already about to fall over before... She worked too hard again, that attack must have taken a lot of power.'

Her mind redirected to the monster.

'That thing Umi-chan shot at, it was black too. Then there was that red dot. Red?' She glanced down, giving herself a mental slap. 'Of course! This all happened after Umi-chan shot it! So that means... A part of it has attached to Umi-chan?'

Kotori also gripped her Umi's hand as she squinted in deep thought.

'No, that's not right. I think it's trying to take over Umi-chan instead, the way this is spreading... I won't let that happen, I won't let this...'

"Umi-chan! I'll stay here until you open your eyes in this dream, even if it's just a little! If you do, that means you haven't lost. It means I'll get to see you again, in the world everyone is in."

Kotori shifted the three of them. The other Umi's arm was against her back as she snuggled into Umi and closed her eyes.

"Keep your promise, Umi-chan."

Sleeping in a dreamlike place. How strange.

.. ... ..

Earlier that day, μ's had eaten lunch around noon and headed to the gate afterwards.

"Woah...", was the only think Honoka could say.

There were headless corpses scattered about, and honestly they did not smell good at all.

"Hey, let's just get this over with. Rin, Honoka?"

"Yes!" The duo gave Maki, who was on the wall, a thumbs up. They were each holding a rope tied to her.

Meanwhile Eli, Nozomi, and Hanayo hung back, mostly because of Hanayo though. She was actually doing pretty well though, determined to not run away from the situation.

"Hanayo you don't have to push yourself alright?"

"I-it's fine Eli-chan. I know I have to face this just like everyone else."

"Just remember you can rely on us too, alright Hanayo-chan?"

"Ah, thank you, Nozomi-chan."

..

After lighting the corpses along the first wall on fire, Maki called a break. At that, almost everyone went back to the school.

"Nico-chan, you're still here?"

"Huh? Is there a problem? You're here still too right?"

"Hey! I'm just here to watch the fire and I don't really care why you're here... I'm just curious."

Maki found herself in awkward silence as Nico didn't retort back. Eventually it was broken when she heard Nico sniffing. Knowing how Nico tried to keep up her idol image at all times, this was a bit...

"Nico-chan?"

"...Hey, Maki-chan, do you smell something?"

"Not really, the smoke is blowing away from us."

"Not that, there's something else that smells really good. I've smelt it for a while, ever since those bodies started burning, but I don't know what it is."

Nico lifted her head up and took deep breaths of whatever it was she smelled. During the whole exchange Maki only saw her back. So when she turned around Maki saw the change.

"N-Nico-chan, your eyes!"

* * *

 **AN:** If you're confused about the plot, don't worry. I too, have no idea what's happening.

["Plot" is stuck to the broom while cleaning trash]


	6. The Sonoda Dojo Detour Obstacle

Into **Day 4**.

 **Another Disclaimer:** The concepts of this chapter's villain(s) are from Yandere Simulator.

 **Thanks** To _Sleygal_ , for trying to give me ideas for wolf!Umi back when I started this for these types of scenes. While I couldn't go with your ideas directly, I think I did something similar.

* * *

The younger trio woke up late again the next morning, exiting Yukiho's room and proceeding with morning routines. They finished their breakfast and chatted some more about the previous night for an hour or so, yet Kotori hadn't left the bedroom. They thought they'd try to convince Kotori to eat while one of them attempted to feed Umi.

"Yukiho-chan, are you sure we should disturb them?" Arisa asked.

They stood outside the door.

Yukiho nodded, "I know Kotori-san is worried, but I also know that Umi-san wouldn't like to be fussed over this way...", she knocked, "We're coming in. Kotori-san?"

They knew Kotori had been with Umi the entire time. When they opened the door they had caught her basking in the sunlight, still dressed in her pajamas. That wasn't the problem, the problem was when she turned to face them.

Yukiho never thought she'd see Kotori with such an empty expression, also noticing Kotori seemed a bit paler than before.

"K-Kotori-san, why don't you go downstairs to eat with Yukiho-chan? We'll look after Umi-san, okay?" Sayomi spoke up.

Kotori squinted her eyes with a slight frown before nodding and starting to move downstairs.

"Sorry, I just thought since you were closer...", Sayomi turned and began to say when Kotori was out of sight.

"No it's fine. I just... I've never seen Kotori-san like this after all these years." Yukiho took a deep breath before going downstairs herself.

Arisa and Sayomi watched her before going into Honoka's room as Yukiho trailed after Kotori.

When she caught up and sat down, Kotori was already eating whatever remained of breakfast. After a few minutes of silence, and awkward eating sound effects, Yukiho decided to speak up.

"Kotori-san."

Kotori looked up and shifted her gaze to Yukiho. Those eyes gave her chills.

"Do you... think Umi-san will get better?" Yukiho realized that was probably not a good topic, too late to stop.

"For our sake, she must get better." Flat tone, of course.

"'Our sake'?" Yukiho quietly repeated.

This could mean a few things. One, since the infected can use their full strength, Umi would be a humanoid wrecking-ball! ...Something simpler? Like, Kotori would die of heartbreak or she'd stay put and it'd lead to DOO-... nah.

Kotori sighed, "Don't worry about it."

She had finished eating at that point and was starting to clean up.

"'Don't worry'? Kotori-san!" Yukiho stood up and slammed her hands on the table. "Of course we're worried! Of all people... Please explain why you're acting like this!"

Ignoring her, Kotori continued her task. With a huff, rather than waiting, Yukiho followed her actions.

There was only silence between them as they washed the dishes.

..

Kotori immediately went to Umi's side afterwards, Yukiho sitting with her friends.

Yukiho explained what had happened downstairs, at the table they had pulled out, as Kotori checked on Umi. Said girl joined them afterwards, uncaring about how the others saw the 'new her'.

"How is she?" Arisa had personally checked for them but it didn't hurt to hear her senior's opinion.

"Her condition has stabilized."

"But she still has a high fever...", Arisa mentioned.

They just stared at Kotori, and she stared back.

After a few minutes of silence she finally decided to speak.

"I think you should all start to pack, at least decide what to pack. We were suppose to go back to the school... Now please leave."

They comically fell over at the complete change of topic. Yukiho was the first to recover and sighed.

"Yeah, we should. Let's go you two."

Arisa and Sayomi shared a worried glance before following.

..

"Why aren't we questioning her!?" Sayomi exclaimed, as she sat roughly on Yukiho's bed.

"Sayomi, it's not like she's making it up. Compared to here, the school should be a lot safer." Yukiho said.

"I also want to see my sister." Arisa continued, causing Sayomi to flinch. "Sayomi-chan, I'm sure Kira-san is fine." She added.

"She's right, she's way smarter than my sister and she's still alive. You know?"

Sayomi pouted at their efforts. "I-I know that, it's just that this whole event is a lot to take in." she sighed, "So, packing?"

.. ... ..

Meanwhile, another trio was starting to move.

Kotori woke up, still in Umi's arms. The latter's grip on her was tighter but, since she was on her left, she could hear that Umi's heartbeat had slowed down to a more regular pace.

Shifting a little, Kotori tilted her head to look up at Umi. She felt her occasionally twitch every now and then, a major improvement to the shaking.

After letting her thoughts wonder, she decided to check on the other Umi. She slowly turned her head around, careful not to pull her hair.

The other Umi flinched.

"H-hello, Kotori." The other Umi greeted. She was sitting on her knees and seemed a lot better.

Kotori blinked, the way she was greeted was really familiar...

"Um, have we met before?"

"What- makes you say that?" Umi said nervously.

Kotori stared at her. Seeing how her head was turned half way around, it was kind of unnerving.

"Ah, we met in the forest during our vacation." Kotori stated, beaming.

"W-what? How did you know?!"

"Oh~, so we have met before then." Kotori said as she smiled sweetly.

"Hey! You tricked me!"

Wolf Umi received a giggle. "You're just like Umi-chan…", she mumbled to herself. The former's face fell slightly.

"Could you come closer?"

"Y-yes!"

Umi moved behind her as Kotori snapped her head back into place.

"To answer your question," Kotori began, "Umi-chan wouldn't have acted up so much from just seeing me."

"You really noticed it wasn't her...?" She slumped a bit.

"Well, I thought it was my imagination at first... Why are there two of you?"

"About that, the one you are holding is the human half you know outside. I am the wolf half, it's nice to see you again." Wolf Umi spoke softly with a hint of sadness.

"Hm, why didn't Umi-chan mention you when we talked about her werewolf blood though? Why didn't you tell me?" Kotori pouted as she asked the second question, turning towards Umi's wolf half, which caused the latter to look away.

"Well, I- she doesn't know about me, that I have a personality. We've never spoken to each other and... At the time we met, I wasn't supposed to be interacting with you."

"Umi-chan~, that's no good! You should talk to her, I'm sure Umi-chan wouldn't mind."

Kotori moved her head back, thinking of something.

"That's not... We don't really need to talk."

"..."

"Kotori, could we move my outer half? It'd be better if she was in her room."

She automatically nodded, wanting to do what was best for her friend, before trying to get up.

"Um..."

"What is it?"

"Umi-chan isn't letting me go!" Kotori exclaimed as she tried to wiggle away.

"I see. I'll transform so you can drag yourselves onto me."

On one hand, it seemed wrong to make her carry them considering her previous condition. On the other hand, Umi's wolf form was really soft.

"Okay."

..

Eventually they made it to the bedroom, after some trials and errors, letting the hugging duo land on the bed as wolf Umi switched back. It turned out maintaining Protect while moving with it, and balancing on a moving wolf's back with your childhood friend's unconscious body, was quite difficult.

After setting Umi down more properly, Kotori sat on the edge of the bed while wolf Umi leaned on it, sitting on the floor.

An awkward silence passed.

"...If you don't mind me asking: How do you... know how Umi-chan thinks besides... being- well- a part of Umi-chan?"

"A-ah, w-well the most important details in her life... I can pick them up. T-the memories and such, not the actual experience."

"Oh..."

Another moment of silence.

Humming, Kotori spoke. "What should we call you?"

"W-what? Just act like I'm my outer half, I don't mind."

"No." Kotori spoke sternly. It was her rare angry voice which wasn't all that intimidating, but the thought was there. "Even if you ask that, I won't. Despite how much you're alike...", she paused in thought and spoke kindly, "you're still different enough to be your own person. So, please~. Let's give you a name, even if it's slightly different, it's fine."

Kotori stared as wolf Umi slipped into deep thought...

"Um... What do you think about me?" Wolf Umi forced the question out. It was random, but it had been at the tip of her tongue for a while.

Kotori had a questioning look cross her face before closing her eyes, breathing in. Then, she opened her eyes and gave a reassuring smile as she came up with an answer.

"That's~, a secret! But I'll give you a hint. You remind me of someone and the only differences I can see between you two are your eyes."

At that, Umi turned her head away, glum. "So, I remind you of my outer self after all…", then she heard Kotori move.

"The person I'm thinking of isn't exactly the Umi-chan that I know now. So, you two are different okay?" She sat to wolf Umi, leaning into and petting her head.

"...Because we're different I can't be out there. I don't know how I should act around people anymore. Logically, it is better if I stay in here... alone." She hugged her knees.

Kotori paused for a moment. Then her hand lowered to hold wolf Umi's instead.

"Just be yourself. I know everyone will accept you as we all spend time together. It'll be just as fun as you remember! Especially with Honoka-chan. You want to see her again too don't you?"

Wolf Umi slightly perked up when she heard Kotori's words. Seeing this, she pushed for her previous demand a second time.

"So let's think of a nickname for you!"

"A-alright, geez. I do want to be slightly different. Um... ah! Then how about 'Umi-dah'? Honoka has called me that a few times I believe."

"Aha ha ha…"

Kousaka Honoka, shouldn't yell other peoples' names.

"I-is there something wrong with it?" A hint of worry in her voice.

"No, not at all. So, Umi-dah it is then!" Kotori said, ignoring how Honoka would suffer at Umi's hands later... Well, probably Umi.

Kotori hugged her closer and Umi-dah nervously sunk into the hug but she quickly relaxed into it, releasing a sigh.

"Umi-dah-chan, can you tell me about the monster you were fighting?"

The topic caused Umi-dah to stiffen and fidget.

"I-I don't much about it. It just appeared and it started hurting my outer half. I mean, this dojo is her in a way."

"Oh? Then... That means that forest over there…?" Kotori trailed while gesturing somewhere. It did standout how the pixels were different.

"S-sorry, I should've… anyways, yes. That forest has been my home in this world. I-I'm not confined or anything it's-! It just brings me unwanted feelings when I'm to be here."

"I knew it." She mumbled, looking away. Her theory about who this Umi was seemed correct, well, it was getting stronger evidence.

"Kotori?"

"Nothing!" She returned to looking at Umi-dah, "So about this-", gesturing to the gem-like thing lodged into Umi-dah's chest, "thing, does it hurt?"

"Right now, no, but for my other half... These red parts. I sense, malice from them. It intends to destroy us I think, but hasn't done anything directly to her body. But still, it was hard to fight against."

"But Umi's..." Kotori's expression changed into one of worry. If the dojo's condition was this bad then...

"Don't worry, we'll be alright as long as we stay in here. More so for my outer half as this is where her soul is strongest and she's the one who needs the rest to overcome it."

"Thank goodness." Kotori said in relief before another question occupied her mind, "Does that mean... we're just souls right now?"

"W-well yes but we're still inside ou- Umi's body. Speaking of which, I'm not quite sure how you got inside of here, but I thank you for putting up the barrier and assisting with the battle. As you may have figured, the black objects outside are related to the... Kotori?"

Kotori had zoned out, prompting the wolf to nudge her. After an attempt or two, she snapped out of it and blinked a few times. She turned to her companion.

"Sorry, sorry. Just thinking." she cleared her throat, "Umi-dah-chan, you don't have to thank me. You know we're best friends, right? It's natural that'd I help."

A blush spread over her face, "Y-yes, I know that! I-I'm sorry Kotori."

Kotori stared, and then reached over, patting her head and let out a small giggle. "You're right, you are out of practice. You're too stiff."

"Kotori~." Umi-dah whined.

Kotori let out an amused laugh, with Umi-dah pouting.

"Hey Umi-dah-chan, let's talk."

"Eh? Um... I don't know Koto-"

"It's fine. Knowing Umi-chan, she doesn't quite value fashion _and_ we have time before she wakes up," Kotori leaned in closer, "don't you want to learn more about the outside?"

Umi-dah shuddered. While it was true she hadn't received news about the latest fashion trends from her counterpart and was thus a tad curious how her generation had 'evolved', she didn't exactly like that glint in Kotori's eyes. However, she still couldn't say 'no' either. Especially with her so close with no excuses in sight.

"O-okay..." A nervous smile appeared on her face.

Hopefully, Kotori wouldn't mention short skirts. They were the one article of clothing her outer half transmitted details of; the awfully embarrassing moments of wearing them and the multiple suspicions of Kotori tampering with their length came rushing to the front of her mind. They weren't bad to her for a while, she actually wore them quite frequently back then. However it seemed circumstances changed as a girl got older. She was glad she didn't directly experience that discovery. Although, it seemed to be an over-time-experience, so it wasn't until shortly after the school idol business that she put the details together.

Other than that topic, she did have other ideas for a conversation...

..

Time between the two passed as they conversed. Fashion, Kotori, Honoka, their families, and the other μ's members. Each topic made Umi-dah's eyes glow, literally. The look on her face didn't fade, even as they became silent, still shoulder to shoulder.

It was all very comforting, but maybe they should actually check on Umi now.

.. ... ..

After spending the day packing after the discussion with Kotori, the girls headed out the next morning after the morning routines, locking the shop behind them. The younger girls spent a few minutes to take in the bloody scenery and picked up their stuff. Kotori, who was still acting strange, circled above them.

Thanks to their idol training, Arisa and Yukiho got to carry the heavier loads. Said loads of the group, in total were: two smaller bags, a big 'Umi Level' bag, an unconscious Umi and the katana Umi had carried.

Yukiho and Sayomi had gotten a smaller bag along with something else. Yukiho carried Umi by her uninjured side while Sayomi carried the katana, she wasn't completely weak after all. That meant Arisa had the big bag.

Their first obstacle was the truck. They could have climbed over the truck blocking their path, but they ignored it and decided to take the long way. Said way would lead them to Umi's, letting them rest. While it was hardly closer to their destination, they decided to go there to set up a checkpoint base despite Kotori's protests. Kotori didn't argue with them that insistently.

They saw the sights the two seniors saw beforehand, with the dead already disposed of. The odd thing, besides the lack of presence of the attacker(s), were their conditions. They were either burned, minced or both. Kotori could have warned them, they thought.

Besides the sights, there were no other sounds besides the ones they made. Which was completely unnerving, where was the wind? At least that would've been something.

While it would've been great if it were just gore and silence, and they could walk away, peace is not welcomed in an apocalyptic environment.

As they neared Umi's home, perhaps a five minute walk, a rupture of chirping from the neighborhood birds prompted Kotori to swerve to dodge an incoming fireball.

Kotori turned to her attacker, lowering to the front of the others.

A figure appeared from the ruins of one of the houses.

It seemed to resemble a human, perhaps it was one. Now, however, it was a deformed monstrosity. It was charred black, with pulsing reddish-orange veins, or what they thought were veins. It was hunched over with its' arms slightly longer to support it, and with clawed hands. On its' back was a third 'arm', but it seemed to not function like one.

It looked at them with empty eye sockets, red orbs peering into them.

" _Hehe, more sacrifices."_

While they all heard it, there was no way its' pitch-black mouth could form words...

" _Heh, there's no point in running, not with your extra baggage. Sonoda-san is infected, isn't she? I wouldn't think any of these things could touch her."_

"How do you know Umi-san and that she was infected?!" Arisa shouted at the creature.

 _"I'm sure Minami-san would know, but she seems to be a real bird_ now." If it could scoff, it probably would. _"I used to be a resident here, not that anyone cared. Anyways, everyone here has been killed, and it was easy. With everything happening no one was willing to help as each family I took down perished. With each one, the beings who collaborated with me made me stronger.  
_

 _As for how I knew Sonoda's condition, the energy these 'zombies' have are within her too. I even made someone turn for my amusement, to watch it. It's amazing what this energy can do, but unfortunately I can't harness it... Perhaps that one girl would help me if I took some of you hostage. Nozomi_ was _it, in that ex-idol group? Where is she? ...Well I suppose I'll worry about that later, some of you have to absorbed after all!"  
_

Without warning it sprung forward quite fast, but Kotori managed to use Protect to block it. Due to it, it flipped backwards and shook the minimal shock from crashing off.

It seemed to want to make a remark, but Kotori followed with a weak Solar Beam. Despite the weakened state, it still ended up knocking the thing a good five yards away.

Using the chance, she managed to use Light Screen on the girls before going on the offense again.

The thing got up, only to see her come in with Brave Bird. In other words, a small bird covered in energy coming straight for it. It wasn't worried though, because it had been charging an attack with its' third arm.

Firing a beam of condensed flames, Kotori was forced to pull up. Luckily her aura protected her enough to only leave slight scorches.

"Kotori-san!" Yukiho and Arisa yelled in worry.

"-Tori..."

Kotori glared at the thing, as a Rowlet does, deciding on her next move.

.. ... ..

"Umi-dah-chan what are you doing?"

Kotori watched as she sat on her knees in the center of the room. It was Umi's meditation posture, she noted.

"I'm switching control of our body temporarily. You see, while someone is still inside of here they are still connected to their bodies. That way, when a body suffers damage, a person could snap out of it to react to the cause. Seeing how my ou- Umi is, she's in no condition." Umi thought for a moment before adding to her explanation, "Well, that's how it works for us at least."

Kotori furrowed her brows, "So you'll be in pain then? You know Umi-chan probably still has... that bite..."

"And it'll be a very dull pain. Kotori, the body will only send what it's feeling if it feels threatened or the pain becomes too much. "

A moment of silence pasted as Umi-dah finished the transfer, and with a sigh she turned to Kotori.

"It's done."

"And, how do you feel?"

"I'm fine, Kotori. It's just a dull pain, just as I thought."

She gave a relieved sigh, "That's good... hopefully nothing will happen outside. Especially to the other girls outside."

It would've been bad for their friends' sisters to perish, not to mention how'd they react. With the exception of Sayomi, since they didn't know her or Tsubasa well enough, the sisters had very strong relationships. Kotori didn't want to imagine the scenario of anyone close to her dying, no more than her father.

"Yukiho, A-Arisa, and... S-..." Umi-dah pondered who the last person was, as she had left no impact on Umi.

"Sayomi-chan." Kotori had figured out her dilemma, "We don't see her often anymore. From what Honoka-chan has told me, her parents are... strict? They're very... prideful. After A-rise's defeat from us they..." Kotori had trailed off.

Umi-dah didn't quite understand what Kotori meant. Her parents were strict as well, as far as she could remember. Kotori probably meant in a different way, considering they've seemed to regulate her relationships. It was something to think about, but not now.

A rough impact caused Umi-dah to clutch her right side, alongside feeling the pain in her shoulder.

"Umi-dah-chan?! Has something happened?" Kotori exclaimed in worry.

"I- I'm going to check. Please look after my other half, Kotori." Umi-dah stated as she recovered after a few moments.

Then she was gone.

Despite her worry of the others, Kotori couldn't leave, even after willing it. So she pumped herself up instead.

"Okay! I'm going to make sure Umi-chan will get better! Although, I wonder why I can't go back... No! I have to help Umi-chan!"

A moment of silence passed.

"Um... What should I do?"

.. ... ..

With the battle outside, the road to the dojo was heavily damaged. Due to both sides, there were craters and scratch marks littered around the area.

From the thing's side, it kept trying to distract Kotori by lunging at her. This way, it could use its' arm and shoot down Kotori. It would've worked had it not revealed its' various abilities, intending to end the fight imminently. It could retract the third arm and make it reappear anywhere on its' body, keeping progress of the charging attack. Seeing how this didn't work, after some time, it also infused energy into it's prime limbs. It became enhanced, to the point of blurring, leaving burning craters where its' legs pushed off. Alongside the occasional beam it had been firing, its' claws sent waves of flames. While one would think these two things combined would be troublesome, thanks to the initial lack of enhancement, there wasn't enough impact to the power scale.

Kotori, on the other-hand, did her best to keep her distance and only performed ranged moves. Thanks to intuition, and the lingering birds who chirped their support, she had avoided injury during the beginning segment. As she adapted, the thing became more frustrated and increased its' power output. In response, Kotori started using her own enhancements as well, such as Double Team.

In summary, the fight between the two had transformed into a series of blurs that were causing destruction in their general area. Amazingly, the damage hadn't spread all that far, only being concentrated.

"Wow, Kotori-san is amazing..." Arisa commented.

Yes, these bystanders were still in plain view of the battle. Sayomi had mentioned how that was a bad thing, seeing how sight works both ways. However, they had found Kotori's Light Screen also worked both ways. Meaning, they were stuck until it dispelled.

Yukiho saw this as the chance for them to rest, but had them remain alert. With how fast the battle was going, any of the projectiles should be avoided.

As the battle continued, the battle seemed somewhat even. However it seemed that Kotori was slowly advancing, and it took notice.

Sliding back and coming to a halt on the ground, it made its' declaration. A declaration of how it was going to win, an advantage Kotori didn't have.

" _This is getting far too annoying. Who knew a bird would be this challenging, she doesn't even emit her own power... Whatever, I need a meal. Now. Then, we can resume this match."_

Since it planned on refueling in the near future, it exerted a large amount of energy to break the shield with nearly no warnings. Luckily, the dialog had gotten the girls inside ready, or so they thought.

Unable to predict the actual force of the charge, which was slightly more than what it had been using up to that point in battle, they were blown away. Though they didn't travel far, perhaps six feet, their landings weren't made of grace.

Arisa and Sayomi had braced themselves together, katana sheathed with Arisa's bag facing the expected blast. Following that, Sayomi's bag cushioned their fall. They were able to get up relatively quickly, but couldn't find it in themselves to approach and assist their companions.

With Yukiho, she wasn't as well protected. She did her best to utilize her bag too, to protect her and Umi. Considering her sister's childhood friend, who was also more of a role model figure than Honoka, she also tried to shield Umi. Unfortunately, along with the bruises that'd probably form on Yukiho, Umi's injured side collided with the ground. With an unconscious grunt, it was Yukiho who had bounced roughly away from Umi. At least Umi served as a cushion first.

From what it could sense, Umi was still the strongest one there despite her condition, spiritually. She was certainly strong and alongside that, there was an... interesting development within her. It was though there were multiple sources within her, and that peaked its' interests even further.

Physically the weakest at that moment, she was also the easiest target.

Before it approached her, however, Umi let out a groan before slowly rising. With interest, it let her.

Upon raising her own head, Yukiho stared at the scene with concern. Likewise, Arisa and Sayomi also stared from the other side. Besides the obvious danger of Umi being attacked, she was getting up in a very classic zombie-like way. Slow and overly dramatic, to the point nobody moves for no reason in suspense.

Finally standing, she turned towards the creature and it looked at her. Due to the hanging of her head, hair covering most of her face, Arisa and Sayomi were unable to confirm her status.

Unexpectedly, after a moment of this, the creature took a Solar Beam aimed at its' face. Leading it to crash into a nearby building, situated next to the street it had previously stood on.

The three girls stared in shock, though Umi seemed to be observing the situation. Due to lack of general movement though, her condition still couldn't be confirmed. Not that the girls were looking at her anymore anyways.

Kotori had acknowledged Umi was standing, but took the opportunity to try and take advantage of the situation.

Moments passed as the dust cleared. A figure emerged, following a burst of flames that seemed to clear their surroundings.

Though it was a full Solar Beam, it had survived. It turns out it had been storing an attack, but had to fire it in defense alongside using its' arms as a shield. Of course the beam had blown away the attack, thus its' injuries. Among those were its' missing all three arms, something it needed to use most attacks.

In anger from this, it rushed at Kotori, wounds healing but with arms unable to recover. It used flames to rocket into the sky, emitted by the bottom of its' feet. Before it had been jumping to simulate flight, Kotori didn't foresee this possibility.

Roughly knocked into and thus dazed, it had the opening to proceed to use the same flames to rocket her into the ground.

"Kotori-san!" Sayomi yelled in alarm. As she had been forced to... more lonely standards, she had taken to playing Pokemon for a short time. She was no expert, but knew how Kotori, being a grass type, was very vulnerable to flames.

 _"I. Got. You~."_ It grinned, exhausted and tired, it grinned.

She may have crippled him to this extent, but he can finally feast now without worry. She and Umi were defiantly on the plate. If anything, it'd be challenging to choose which of the three remaining girls lived.

"-T-tori..."

Frowning, it saw Kotori trying to crawl out of the nice burning crater it had generously made for, and with, her by her wings. The bird form of hers may have been cute by most standards, but it was time to end this.

Raising a leg to turn her into a fried bird, it died.

Umi had trusted her hand into its' skull, causing them to fall face-down sideways while she continued to pry it open. Apparently such a thing had a thick skull.

...

Trying to get her senses to focus after reentering the outside world, Umi-dah had slowly risen. She had previously sensed a presence full of malice and turned towards it, only for it to be blown away moments later.

She knew that it had to be killed then, but her body was... strange, excluding the pain from her injuries. She had an urge to do something feral by human standards, to consume... for... knowledge?

'Knowledge of what?' She had wondered.

She only blinked once and saw it fly up to a bird she registered as Kotori, and proceeded to watch the events unfold.

Rage and worry filled her being, causing her to rush ahead with Waterfall, ending its' life with Pound delivered with her fist.

It wouldn't end there though. She proceeded to tear open the skull to consume the knowledge her body urged her to obtain.

Looking up slightly, out of the corner of her eye but not registering in her mind, as she lower her head, Kotori collapsed and glowed at the edge of the crater.

[ Kotori used Synthesis and Rest ]

.. ... ..

Kotori had decided to snuggle in bed with Umi as the events unfolded outside.

It wasn't like she was indulging in her selfish desires, well, maybe it was just a little bit. Though there was a good reason for her actions, seriously!

After initially pondering what to do, she concluded she needed emotional support more than anything else. Acting as a pillow of some-sort seemed like a good plan, a pillow that buries itself into your neck with joyous hums.

Kotori didn't take into account Umi would be conscious enough to react to such a situation.

"Ha... ah-hah... ha..."

Reacting to Umi's strange breathing and stiffness, she stopped her actions and looked up. The bright hue of Umi's red face caused her to prop herself up, giving her a view of Umi's shocked expression.

It wasn't anything new, but... was it okay for her to undergo this stress while injured?

..

Umi was fully awake after Kotori had managed to calm her down. She was sitting up on her bed, leaning back on a pillow. Kotori sat next her, on the edge of her bed, gazing at Umi.

"Kotori... what happened, where is this?" Umi wore a perplexed expression as she returned the gaze.

With reassuring smiles, Kotori would answer all her questions.

..

Kotori's answers added up to the point of where they were, what it meant, what had happened, and why she couldn't 'wake up' just yet. While the spiritual aspect took a few moments to process, she decided to move on to a more... pressing topic for herself.

"That other me, was my wolf half like?" While she remained composed, Kotori picked up on the small quiver in her voice.

"Well... she is you. I've spoken to her. She's your wolf half, Umi-chan. Um... Ah! And her name is Umi-dah!"

A confused expression crossed Umi's face.

"But... Eh? I've always assumed..." A more guilty look replaced the confused one.

Grabbing her hands in reassurance, Kotori tried to explain.

"Umi-chan, why don't you try talking to her when she comes back? It's not too late, and neither of you have tried talking to each other before, so no one should be blamed. Don't stress over it. Okay?"

Umi had switched to a more thoughtful expression, and became silent for a few minutes.

"Yes, I'll do that." Umi said with a smile, which slowly turned into a frown.

"Kotori, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" Kotori tilted her head.

"Why is she named 'Umi-dah'?"

"Ah."

Kotori went on to explain how she urged Umi-dah to find an identity, in a way. However, because of Honoka's influence, it ended up like that.

"I... see."

"Does it bother you?"

"Yes, but if that is her choice, then I will respect it. Even though saying 'Umi-dah' will be... embarrassing." Umi blushed again as she thought about it.

"Anyway," trying to help Umi by distracting her, "how are you feeling? With thing in your chest."

Umi used her free hand to touch it, with a downcast expression.

"I'd have to agree with my w- with Umi-dah on her assessment. I don't sense its' intentions like she does, but I've been feeling a dull ache. I also- I feel... different? I can't really explain how I've change."

"Well if it's two Umi-chans, I'm sure you'll figure it out. I'll listen to you, like you do to me. So, until then let's- ah!"

Enveloped by a gray glow, Kotori automatically broke contact with Umi as the latter straightened with worry. Figuring out what was happening she eased up, Umi following her example. But she still needed as explanation because glowing was still a concerning thing.

"It seems that I'm going back outside. I'll see you later then, Umi-chan. Please focus on getting better!"

As she faded out, Umi look at the manjus, "Get better... a few before I rest couldn't hurt...", she mumbled.

She didn't just have a few, and there was tea there too! Luckily, certain bodily functions weren't necessary in the spirit world.

.. ... ..

Even from the distance that they were away from their seniors, Umi was obviously eating its' brains out.

On the plus side, it was dead. On the downside, Umi was acting like a traditional zombie that had the strength to punch through a tank. It may have been an exaggeration, but the thing that she was sitting on was no pushover.

More importantly, in relation to Umi's activity, in Sayomi's words, "She's eating them, then she's going to eat us! Ahhh!"

Taking her shoulders and shaking her, Arisa tried talking sense into her.

"Sayomi-chan calm down! Umi-san isn't like that! There's no way she'd be infected this fast!"

Arisa came to realize, as this continued, Umi had been infected for more than a day. Much more time compared to the plebs who turned in a matter of under an hour, so to say Umi wasn't...

"Quiet you two!" Yukiho had picked herself up and walked up to them.

...

Honestly, this process should've been quick considering she ate with the hunger gnawing her reason away.

And its' brain wasn't that large either.

As she ate, Kotori stopped glowing as she shifted back to her human form. Standing and staring at Umi's figure for a few minutes. Despite the questioning gaze on her face, she approached her.

Umi stiffened as she crouched down besides her. Her meal was gone too.

The bystanders stared, wondering what would happen.

Kotori wrapped her arms around her, a side hug. Then she glowed.

...

'Hm? Where is this?'

Kotori knew that time had passed, but didn't know she had been moved physically in the waking world.

'Ok, sight: blue, hair. Feeling: hug. Hugging, Umi-chan?'

Kotori blinked in confusion before feeling arms wrapping around her, followed by sobbing. They were Umi's sobs, no, Umi-dah's.

"Umi-dah-chan, what's wrong?" Kotori asked, stroking her back in comfort.

She cried for a few more minutes before choking out, "I-I didn't mean to. I-I couldn't...", the rest was too mumbled as she buried herself further into Kotori's chest.

"Um...?" Umi-dah's response didn't really help. Kotori figured it was something she did, so she rotated her head to look around.

Behind her were the girls, and under Umi-dah was a charred looking humanoid body. With a noticeable void where a brain would be. Access to it ripped open... Oh.

Kotori didn't quite understand the situation, but knew Umi-dah wouldn't hurt her. Not like whatever was under her.

Was there a reason to think like that? The bystanders, who seemed fearful, seemed to think so.

Kotori faced a girls and flashed them a smile, trying to convey it was alright.

...

Among themselves, they looked at each other, unsure what to do. Their senior had sent them a reassuring smile, but was it really okay? Her head had been screwy, had been acting strangely, since the previous day, so was it really okay to believe her?

..

Yukiho eventually gave them a nod, as the minutes passed and the sobs died down to sniffles.

Despite the risks of following a possibly turning person and a previously empty girl, they were still a strong presence in her life. One that she didn't want to lose in a tragic way. Not here, not now for her sister.

Stepping forward, with hesitating steps following, she approached them. Umi's body stiffened as she heard them approach, but Kotori mumbled something to her.

"Kotori-san, are you guys alright? You took a pretty hard hit and Umi-san...", Yukiho couldn't quite word it to make her not sound monstrous.

"She ate it!" Sayomi blurted, "She won't hurt us right?!" She took a step closer, Arisa flinching at the outburst.

Kotori had flinched as well, only having a guess as to why Sayomi was so concerned. But still, she recovered and smiled, "She won't hurt us. It's not in her character, right?"

Sayomi glared at her, not believing it, but she didn't feel like arguing. Instead, she took a few steps back, just in case, to have a chance should something happen.

Mumbling something to Umi, the girls watched them stand up, the latter's face now buried in the former's shoulder. Umi's arms were clinging to one of Kotori's.

"I'd like to chat, but I think it's safer," Kotori looked around, realizing where they were, "if we talked at the Sonoda Dojo."

The girls looked at her in confusion, but nodded. She was right again, to them at least.

.. ... ..

Somehow the commotion from earlier hadn't attracted any trouble, besides Sayomi's inner fuming. Well, not any trouble on their short trip. As Kotori had let Umi cling to her, Kotori couldn't fly and scout.

Standing at the entrance Kotori whispered to Umi, "Umi-dah-chan, I have to check and open the gate now. I'll be right back, okay?"

With a whimper, she let go and wrapped her arms around herself as Kotori flew.

..

Minutes passed, and then the gate slowly opened.

* * *

 **AN:** To clarify, the crater was maybe three Rowlets in diameter and at least three feet deep (at the center) from the impact. Also, I can't even write seriously because of the Umi-dahs.

So, this probably won't be separated because I couldn't find a good separation point.

I have the ideas, but I'm too lazy to type it out.


End file.
